Safely Fly The Stork
by Avoncliffe
Summary: Spring 1988 and Harry is pregnant with an unplanned baby. How will this impact upon their marriage, barely three months in existence?
1. Chapter 1

**Safely Fly The Stork.**

**1.**

During the morning of Friday, March 17th, 1988, Lady Harriet Dempsey had paid a visit to her doctor.

When she emerged into the bright, mid morning Spring sunshine from her appointment with him, she was trembling with a mixture of excitement, elation and trepidation.

Following a missed monthly period and now sickness the previous morning, she had been on tenterhooks prior to the meeting, wondering how the news she was fully expecting, would not only impact upon her, but also her husband, James.

They had known each other for four years, having been thrown together as unlikely partners in SI-10, a clandestine Government department of elite undercover detectives and run by their irascible boss, Chief Superintendent Gordon Spikings.

Initially they had clashed.

Lieutenant James Dempsey was a brash, arrogant New Yorker, seconded from the NYPD, while Lady Harriet, known as Harry, scion of a hugely wealthy family of landed gentry, was working as Sergeant Makepeace, having retained her surname from an estranged and disastrous first marriage to Robert.

For anyone looking on with the opinion that opposites attract would witness, over the course of the following three years, proof of just how accurate that statement was.

Slow burning, their love for each other eventually caught up with them and when it burst into acceptance and reality, its course never ran deeper, truer or more eternal, than in the case of these two passionate lovers.

When in peril, as they often were given the nature of their work, a rare and unique sixth sense seemed to kick in, a kind of telepathic connection warning one of impending danger to the other.

Becoming engaged in the summer of 1987 and married six months later in spectacular fashion on the Carribean island of Necker, they had vowed that children, although wanted, would not yet feature in their lives. (see 'The Contract')

But nature had a different agenda, so now, barely three months into their married life together, Harry was expecting and she was worried it had come too soon for James.

They had already endured the initial uncertainty of how their feelings for each other would impact upon their work, fearing their love for one another would hamper their abilities to operate effectively in the dangerous theatre of operations within which they were often immersed.

And now that it had been confirmed to her that very morning, that she was soon to introduce a new life into the world, Harry was naturally concerned that its significance was going to be too profound.

That evening they were due to meet their close friends, Rupert and Lady Arabella, Angela and her beau Ollie, Joyce and Roger, and Hugo and Belinda for dinner at Romano's, a favourite Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge, going on later to Stringfellows nightclub in Covent Garden.

While waiting for their taxi to arrive, Dempsey mixed a Martini for Harry and went to hand it to her when she eventually emerged from their bedroom, as ever, looking stunningly beautiful.

She took it from him, but laid it on the coffee table without taking a single sip, Dempsey watching this, a little puzzled.

"Don' you wan' it?" he said, as she took his face in both hands and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"Not for the next nine months, no." she said, her eyes searching his for a reaction. "I know we agreed no babies for a while but..."

"You're pregnant!?" exclaimed Dempsey, his soft brown eyes misting up, the joy in them unmistakable as he pulled her to him, his turn to kiss her.

"Yes darling." she said, looking up at him, their lips lightly touching now, her eyes glistening. "I am."

For a moment he stood there, staring at her, Harry beginning to tremble, uncertain as to how he was going to react once the initial realization hit home.

She needn't have worried.

He suddenly whooped, lifted her off her feet, just as he had done, months earlier, when she had said yes to his proposal of marriage, and swung her around, her arms about his neck, both of them laughing with tears filling their eyes, their lips locked again in passionate embrace.

"Well I'll be goddamned! I'm gonna be a daddy!" he shouted, before suddenly letting her gently down onto the ground and looking at her, a worried expression on his face. "Now honey, you sure you're okay for tonight?"

"Of course, you big dope! I'm only six weeks gone!" she replied, laughing. " I'm not a china doll, so don't go treating me as one. I'm still going to be your partner in SI-10."

"Oh princess, I ain't so sure 'bout that." said Dempsey, frowning.

Searching his face and smiling, having suspected in advance that he'd become over-protective towards her, she wanted to nip it in the bud quickly, yet gently.

"James, darling, now listen. I'm not ill, just pregnant. I need you to understand that simple fact." she said, before gesticulating with both hands. "Eventually I'll be out here and waddling about like an overweight penguin. But nothing's going to change for six months at least. Not in our working life nor home life."

No?" he questioned.

"No." she confirmed, passion now entering her eyes. "And as far as our love life is concerned, just be a little careful with me up top. They're a bit, er sensitive."

"Oh what, you mean..." he said, pointing to her breasts.

"Yes." she giggled. "And they are likely to get bigger and more, erm, fragile."

"I'll take good care of em' honey." he grinned, passion in _his _eyes now. "I just wanna go make another baby with ya right now?"

"We've got that to look forward to later." she whispered, kissing his lips as a car horn sounded outside. "Come on Valentino, take me to dinner, take me dancing, then take me to bed."

"In that order?"

"In that order!" she laughed, her blue eyes shining and never looking so bright. "The taxi's outside for goodness sake!"

They both wanted Harry's father, Lord 'Freddy' Winfield, to be the first to hear their news, but found it impossible to keep quiet that night at dinner.

"You've got something to tell us." sang Angela, her eyes wide with expectation after Harry had immediately declined the glass of champagne offered to her, instead asking for a Perrier with ice and lemon.

Dempsey let Harry do the honours, all eight friends clapping and cheering them, before the girls hugged her and the guys shook Dempsey's hand, other diners looking round and staring appreciatively at this group of tall, handsome men and beautiful, striking women, all oozing wealth and sophistication in bucket loads.

Alfonso Romano, the restaurant's proprietor approached them, knowing them all well enough to enquire as to the reason for their gaiety. Upon hearing Harry and Dempsey's news, he immediately told them their two meals would be on the house, their friend's meals would be at half price and all drinks, the latter's menu at their mercy, would be free also.

"I shan't be costing him much in the drinks department." laughed Harry, after he'd left them. "Unless he makes fortunes out of Perrier water!"

"Do you know what you want, Harry?" asked Belinda, a successful photographic model and sipping her glass of Krug champagne.

"Want? er Belinda?" asked Harry, still not altogether fond of her since discovering she'd been cheating on Hugo, a dear friend, with a brutal Russian spy who had ended up raping her and, in addition, somewhat loose with her affections towards other men.

Nevertheless, she had mended her ways since, had professed her deep love for Hugo and was now living happily and monogamously with him.

"Yes, a boy or a girl?" asked Belinda, aware of Harry's frostiness toward her but bearing no grudge. She had disgraced herself at Harry and Dempsey's wedding reception in Winfield Hall, Freddy Winfield's stately home, and knew, despite professing her profound apologies, that she had much more repair work to do before being fully accepted into Harry's inner circle.

"We ain't bothered, Belinda." said Dempsey, aware that Harry considered it a ridiculous question and was poised to utter one of her scathing put-downs. "Just so long as Harry and our baby are fit an' well. That's all we care 'bout, ain't that right, honey?"

"Of course." replied Harry, laying her hand over his and staring at Belinda.

"Well, whatever you have, he or she will be _gorgeous_." said Angela, raising her glass. "Oh Harry, James, I'm so happy for you. Here's to you both. Congratulations!"

"To Harry and James." they all said, laughing and lifting their glasses high.

Later, after they'd finished their meal, the girls had gone to the ladies restroom to refresh their make-up prior to leaving for Stringfellows.

"Were you shocked Harry?" asked Angela, as they stood in front of a mirror each, touching up their mascara and lipstick. " I mean, I presume it wasn't planned."

"No it wasn't planned, Ange." replied Harry, looking at Angela's reflection in her mirror. "We'd agreed we wanted babies, but were going to leave it and deliberately try when we felt we were both ready."

"But you _are _at it like rabbits though, aren't you." chuckled Angela. "I mean, it's always been plain to me you just can't keep you hands off each other. It was only a matter of time before you caught."

"Yes we are, no we can't and I suppose you're right." giggled Harry. "But nothing's going to change if I have anything to do with it."

"Hugo and I are like that." cut in Belinda. " I just hope when I marry him, nothing will change either."

"Has he proposed then?" asked a surprised Arabella, pretty sure he hadn't, but wondering if she'd missed something.

"No, but I'm hoping." replied Belinda.

"I know how you feel." murmured Angela, who'd been dreaming of marrying Ollie for months.

"When do you plan to take maternity leave?" asked Joyce, as, like Harry, her job was kept secret from their friends, since she worked for MI6 and would probably be parachuted in to replace Harry as Dempsey's partner when the time came.

"I'm leaving an open mind on that right now Joyce." replied Harry. "But after the baby's born I'll take as much time as I need. He or she will be top priority."

"Oh, please don't cut James out!" said Angela, suddenly. "I've seen and read too much of how marriages flounder because the husband is forced into a back seat."

"I won't cut him out!" snapped Harry angrily, annoyed that Angela, of all people, would think she'd sideline the love of her life.

"No, of course you won't." said Angela, a little alarmed at Harry's sudden anger. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid thing to say."

"Yes it was!" replied Harry, conscious that she'd overreacted a bit, but unable to stop herself, her hormones already playing games with her. "There will be three in our marriage, Angela, _not two_!"

"Come on girls." said Arabella, aware of the sudden tension in the air. "Stringfellows awaits us."

On their way back to the boys, Angela slipped her arm through Harry's, anxious to placate her. "Forgive me, darling. My mouth sometimes overtakes my brain before it's in gear."

"This baby will strengthen our marriage even further, Angela, not weaken it!" replied Harry, her smile marginal. "I did wonder how James would take the news, because it's come as such a surprise, but he's over the moon."

"Yes, I can see he is." replied Angela, realizing Harry's emotions were all over the place. "He'll make a _fabulous _Dad."

As soon as Harry was beside Dempsey again, his arm automatically circling her waist, she relaxed, his natural ability in calming her working its magic, she feeling safe, secure and loved beyond question.

She reached up and kissed him.

"I love you so." she whispered, her body shivering deliciously as he caressed her, the wafer thin fabric of her shirt offering no resistance, feeling as though his fingers were actually touching her skin.

"You okay honey?" he asked quietly, instinctively sensing her initial tenseness.

"Yes darling." she whispered, nestling closer into him.

"You sure?" he asked, glancing down into her eyes. "Only ya didn't look it jus' now when ya came out the washroom."

"Yes I'm sure. Angela said something I took issue with, that's all." she replied. "It's fine now."

"Why, what did she say?" he asked, the look on his face leaving her under no illusion that he wasn't going to let it go until he'd got an answer out of her.

"She was just concerned our baby would take all my attention and you'd feel left out. But she's very wrong and I told her so." she said, kissing him again.

"Ha! That can work two ways, honey." he replied, laughing, taking her jacket from the back of her chair and helping her on with it. "But doncha worry, you'll get ta hold our baby jus' as much as me!"

She threw back her head and laughed with him, loving him more for having, so naturally, turned Angela's concern on its head!

When they arrived at Stringfellows, it was alive with music, conversation and dancing, the heady atmosphere infectious. Having booked their seats, they took their places in a specially reserved area and settled in for the evening.

The DJ had announced that every other disc played would be a request and Harry was intrigued when Dempsey left her and wandered over to him, knowing what he was up to, but wondering what he was asking for.

Her answer came half an hour later.

"This is for Harriet and James." said the DJ, Nat King Cole's 'When I Fall In Love' drifting out from the speakers, Dempsey taking Harry's hand and walking onto the floor, closely followed by the rest of the group.

"I guess this is how I feel, princess." said Dempsey as the words of the classic love song filled their ears.

"Not just you, darling, me too." she replied, snuggling into him, her arms around his waist, lost in the lyrics as they entered their hearts, both quietly singing them to each other.

"When I fall in love, it will be forever,

Or I'll never fall in love,

In a restless world like this is,

Love is ended before it's begun,

And too many moonlight kisses,

Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun,

When I give my heart, it will be completely,

Or I'll never give my heart,

And the moment I can feel that, you feel that way too,

Is when I fall in love with you."

"You never fail to amaze me, James." she said as the song finished. "I never, in my wildest dreams, ever imagined you as such a hopeless romantic!"

"You complainin'?" he asked, eyebrows raised at her.

"Of course not, silly! I love you so much more for it." she replied, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. "And I can't wait to show you how much!"

It was a wonderful night, Dempsey arriving home tipsy with drink, Harry tipsy with happiness and, lying in bed together later, both intoxicated by a passion fulfilled, she, resting her head on his chest, their legs interlinked, whispered.

"Are you really happy we're having a baby?"

"Hey honey, sure I am." he replied, turning her face to look at him. "Why the question?"

"Because it wasn't planned, was it." she said. "We wanted to enjoy just being married and then try for babies when we were both fully ready."

"Ain't you ready?" he asked, wondering why these sudden doubts had surfaced.

"I could have waited." she replied. "I knew when I married you, I wanted childen with you. That's something I _knew _I _never_ wanted with Robert."

"Honey, listen." he said, raising himself onto an elbow and looking into her eyes. "I could've waited too, but now its happened I wouldn't wanna change it for the world. Don' ya feel like that?"

"Yes, yes, of course I feel the same." she said, alarmed she'd sent out the wrong signals. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean you to think I didn't want this baby."

"So what's with the question?" he asked again, then suddenly realizing this had everything to do with her failed previous marriage and the pain she was put through. "Harry, sure this baby's come earlier than we planned. But I ain't gonna run for the hills, not like that first creep who walked ya into marriage. An' now we've started, I'm gonna wan' a little sister or brudder for that 'bump' in there."

"'Bump'?" she giggled.

"Yeah, 'bump'. What else we gonna call it?" he grinned.

"Until we've decided on some names, why don't we call it Scrumpy." she chuckled, her worries cleared away and silently kicking herself for being so silly earlier.

"Scrumpy?" he asked.

"Yes, short for scrumptious." she giggled again. "Our baby will be scrumptious won't he - or she?"

"Yeah, scrumptious jus' like you!" he said, sliding down her body, kissing her as he went, her gentle sighs giving way to moans of exquisite pleasure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Safely fly the stork.**

**2.**

As Dempsey slowly came awake the next morning he was conscious of being alone in bed. During most nights, having fallen asleep in each other's arms, they'd separate in sleep, but usually Harry would be cuddled up to him by the time they awoke.

This morning though, things were different and, fully awake now, he could hear her wretching in their en-suite bathroom. Finally, having gargled mint flavoured Listerine, she walked back into their bedroom, naked, and slipped under the duvet, immediately entangling herself with him.

"How did ya sleep, honey?" he asked, stroking her back and feeling her shudder under his touch.

"I've been up and down to the bathroom like the proverbial yo-yo." she murmured, her eyes closed, her skin tingling under his fingers as they travelled up and down her spine.

"You been ill all night?" he asked, as her hands began exploring his body.

"No not ill, just needing the loo a lot." she replied, stroking him intimately now. "But I feel so _sexy_!"

As so often happens with even the most intense symptoms, many women find that their sex drive during pregnancy is so high, they're insatiable a lot of the time, and with all those pregnancy hormones flowing, it's quite understandable.

Harry was no different.

Her breasts were getting larger too, and she'd been expecting that their sensitivity would hamper lovemaking, yet even though they were more delicate, she'd experienced heightened pleasure when Dempsey had kissed and caressed them the night before.

"You gonna feel like this all the time?" he asked, reaching the point of no return under her touch and lifting her face to him, gently kissing her lips.

"Oh I do hope so." she whispered, pulling him on top of her.

Later, over breakfast, Dempsey remarked, while nodding toward her stomach.

"You know, honey, I kinda thought our lovelife'd take a dive now ya got Scrumpy growin' in there."

"No darling, not at all." she replied, still looking flushed from their lovemaking. "My doctor told me yesterday, that I'm probably not necessarily going to be in control of my sex drive now. Instead, my hormones are, as my body changes."

"Well hallelujah to that, princess!" replied Dempsey, grinning from ear to ear as he stood up from the breakfast bar and poured himself another black coffee, gesturing if she'd like the same.

"No thanks." she said, shaking her head, then looking seriously at him. "But there is a downside."

"Yeah? What?" he asked, sitting back down and taking a sip from his replenished cup.

"My mood swings." she replied. "They are going to be out of my control too. I mean, they surfaced last night when I snapped at Angela. She wasn't being nasty, in fact, she was concerned about you, but that didn't register with me."

As if on cue, her eyes began to water, as the memory of how she'd bitten the head off her closest friend, came back to her. Dempsey went to her side, took both her hands in his and pulled her, gently, to a standing position, before letting go of one and wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Hey, tiger." he said, kissing her lips. "She's a woman. She understands ya. She loves ya like a sister, an' ya know she ain't gonna bear no grudge jus' 'cos ya reacted outta character."

"No?" she asked, slipping her hand from his and circling his waist, clasping the other behind him, knowing he was right.

"No, honey. Now, why don' we get dressed an' pay Freddy a surprise visit." he suggested. "Spend the weekend with him, huh?"

"Hadn't we better check he's at Winfield and not in London?" she asked, already feeling better at the suggestion.

"Nah, I guess he'd have called if he were down here." said Dempsey. "He always wants us ta know when he's local, don' he?"

"Yes you're right." she replied, her eyes now clear, bright and sparkling at the thought of telling her beloved father he was going to be a grandpa. "He's going to be so thrilled at our news!"

"Yeah, Aunt Alice too." reminded Dempsey, smiling at the thought of how Alice, Freddy's step sister, was going to be clucking about like a demented hen at their news. "I guess she's gonna feature a helluva lot more in our lives from here on in."

"Oh gosh yes!" giggled Harry. "And what about Glo? We must call her from Daddy's."

Gloria, or Glo, was Dempsey's mother and had not longed returned home, following an extended stay with Freddy and Alice.

"Shoot!" exclaimed Dempsey. "She'll be on the next plane outta New York, you can betcha life on that!"

"_And _Winnie!" said Harry, looking alarmed. "She guessed you know."

Winnie Simons was an escort girl, who often fed Harry with useful information on the underworld, but who'd been badly beaten and sexually abused by a vicious Russian spy and put in hospital. She was still recovering, but had spotted Harry's glowing appearance when she and Dempsey had recently visited her, Harry having admitted while Dempsey had been out of the room, that she was seeking confirmation from her doctor that she was, indeed, pregnant.

"Did she?" asked Dempsey, his eyebrows raised. "How?"

"She just knew when she looked at me." replied Harry. "Nothing much gets past our Winnie you know. And I promised to let her know after I'd been to see the doctor."

"We'll drop by first thing Monday, honey." said Dempsey. "Freddy must come first, doncha think?"

"Yes of course he must." she agreed. "Winnie will understand that."

"Sure she will." confirmed Dempsey.

During the drive to Winfield Hall, Harry looked around the car, a Mercedes 500SL, predominantly a two seater, but with two small seats in the back.

"This will have to go at some point, James." she said. "Actually, I'm amazed that O'Grady is still paying for it."

"Yeah, me too." he replied, chuckling. "Guess he's still smartin' at havin' ta uproot me, an' kick me over here. Anyway, there's enough room in the back for a kiddies seat, ain't there?"

"Well yes, actually there is." said Harry, looking behind her again and smiling as a thought struck her. "Can you imagine a little bundle all wrapped up and sleeping in the back, James?"

"Sleepin' or screamin'?" chuckled Dempsey, glancing across at her.

"Oh heaven forbid!" giggled Harry, reaching for his hand. "God, I'm feeling wanton!"

"Wanton!?" exclaimed Dempsey, chuckling again. "That's a hell of a word!"

"Hmmm, isn't it just." she giggled again, thinking of the stockings, suspender belt and baby doll night dresses she'd packed.

'They'll be put to good use later.' she thought.

But that warm, elated feeling was suddenly overtaken by a rush of nausea.

"Stop the car!" she shouted, Dempsey pulling to the side of the road immediately, her passenger door opening before he was fully at a halt, Harry leaning out and bringing up her breakfast, even though it had just been a couple of pieces of toast.

He rubbed her back as she vomited, but she shook him off.

"Don't!" she snapped, before sitting back in her seat, eyes closed, her breathing fast. She opened them and looked across at him, his startled expression melting her. "I'm sorry, darling. I didn't mean to be harsh."

"That's okay, princess." he said as she leaned across and stroked his cheek.

"I'd love to kiss you, but not after that. Ah, but wait a moment." she said, reaching into her handbag and bringing out her bottle of Listerine. She took a swig, swilled it around, then opened her door and spat it out. Then she leaned across again, pulled his head to her and kissed him, her breath now minty and fresh. "There, that's better."

"Sheesh honey!" said Dempsey, chuckling at her. "Beats me how many bottles of that stuff ya goin' ta go through, every time ya wanna kiss me."

"Would you rather I didn't wash my mouth out!?" she snapped again, fighting with her emotions but glaring at him all the same, an inexplicable panic having grabbed her.

"Whoa there, tiger!" replied Dempsey, looking a little taken aback at her sudden swing in mood. "I was only jokin'."

She took a deep breath, then clutched his hand.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." she said, the panic subsiding. "Ignore me."

"I could never do that, sugar." he said, stroking her hand, then putting it to his lips and kissing it. "You yell at me all ya want."

"Oh James, I really don't deserve you." she said, her eyes watering.

"Sure you do." he said, softly. "Ready to go?"

"Yes, ready to go." she repeated, laying her hand on his thigh after he'd released it to start the car and staring at him, deep love in her eyes now.

She settled back in her seat as the powerful Mercedes set off again, closing her eyes and silently thanking God for having brought this wonderful man into her life.

She couldn't help but compare him to Robert Makepeace, her first husband. Whereas she'd fallen for him quickly, his good looks captivating her on sight, his charm and close attention wooing her into bed within days and down the aisle within months, she remembered how it had all disintegrated so fast, leaving her bereft, devastatingly unhappy and broken.

James Dempsey was so different. Yes he was handsome, just like Robert, but the likeness stopped there. James was tough, brave, intelligent and alpha male, a maverick, arrogant yes, but not reckless.

Where Robert had been shifty, secretive and shallow, James was straight down the line, open and honest. And, above all, her father adored him. That was what had alerted her to the Dempsey inside, opened her eyes to the real Dempsey and that was when, she realized in retrospect, she had started to fall in love with him, slowly, casually, her feelings being allowed to take root in something solid and long lasting, not like before.

She opened her eyes again and looked across at him.

He glanced back at her and grinned that wonderful toothy grin.

"I love you." she mouthed silently to him.

"Me too." he mimicked, pointing to himself and then at her.

She giggled and closed her eyes again, falling into gentle sleep, her hand still resting on his thigh.

In what seemed like seconds later, although it had been an hour and a half, she awoke with a start at the sound of Dempsey blasting the horn as they swept up the long driveway to Winfield Hall.

"You been snorin'." he teased, as she came awake and looked across at him.

"Have I? No, I don't snore, Dempsey." she said, then. "Do I?"

"Sure do, honey." he grinned. "Little soft snorts."

"Don't be absurd." she replied. "Little soft snorts! I ask you!"

"Yeah, jus' like a preddy little baby piglet." he laughed, glancing at her and laughing harder at the look of astonishment on her beautiful face.

"You're such a bloody liar, Mr Demspey!" she chuckled, pinching his thigh, but only playfully.

As they crunched to a halt on the graveled driveway, the two labradors, Gunner and Blondie, came careening out of the front door, wagging their tails and begging for attention, Freddy and Alice following closely behind them.

"Well, well, this is a surprise!" beamed Freddy, always thrilled to have his daughter and much loved son-in-law visit. "Gunner! Blondie! Sit!"

The two dogs immediately sat down, their backsides still wiggling as their tails continued to sweep the drive in a perfect arc, their tongues hanging out and their faces looking as if they were fixed into a permanent smile.

"Wow, you've got them under control, Daddy." laughed Harry, unable to resist making a fuss of them, Dempsey the same. "Hi Aunt Alice."

"Hello darlings both!" she squealed, hugging Harry and Dempsey in turn. "What's the occasion?"

Harry was stumped for a moment, wondering if, like Winnie, Alice had spotted how well she was looking. Women always seemed to know when another was pregnant, but if Alice had done, she was keeping her counsel.

"Let's go in." replied Harry, sidestepping the question. "Come on Gunner, come on Blondie, in you go!"

They all walked into the drawing room, Harry sitting down in a big, comfy armchair, Blondie immediately curling up at her feet and closing her eyes. Harry glanced over at Dempsey and nodded towards the sleeping dog, mouthing 'I think she knows.' Dempsey nodded back, agreeing with her.

"Now, what can I get you to drink?" asked Freddy. "Alice? Champagne?"

"Yes please dear." replied Alice, her eyes firmly planted on Harry, not even looking at the flute when Freddy handed it to her.

"James? Whisky or champagne?" asked Freddy, oblivious to the expectation in his step sister's eyes.

"Er, whisky please. On the rocks." he replied, as Freddy reached for a glass, threw several squares of ice into it, then poured out a generous measure of single malt from a cut glass decanter, before handing the drink over to him.

"Harry? Champagne darling?"

"Er no not right now, Daddy." replied Harry, noting Aunt Alice smiling and squirming a little in her seat.

'She's bloody twigged!' she thought.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Freddy, surprised. "It's not like you to refuse a glass of champers."

"It's not that I don't want one, Daddy. In fact, I'll probably polish off a whole bottle to myself..." she paused, a wide smile appearing on her face, her eyes shining. "In nine months or so, from now."

Freddy stared at her, but Alice couldn't contain herself any longer.

"I knew it!" she squealed, jumping up, both dogs suddenly waking up and growling, wondering if an attack was imminent, then circling everyone, tails wagging profusely.

"I'm pregnant." said Harry, her eyes filling with tears. "You're going to be grandfather, Daddy."

"Oh my God, in all that's holy." said Freddy, his eyes too filling up as he strode over to his daughter, taking both her hands in his and helping her up, hugging her to him while wiping a tear from his cheek. "I don't believe it! You clever girl!"

Alice was bouncing from one foot to the other, desperate to shower someone with affection, so grabbed hold of Dempsey and kissed him, before squeezing the life out of him.

"I always knew you'd got it in you, darling!" she said to him, tears too in her eyes now as she replaced Freddy in hugging Harry.

Freddy threw out an arm to Dempsey and clutched his hand, shaking it before pulling him close and hugging him.

"Well done, son, _well done_!" he said, excitedly, before laughing. "You haven't wasted any time, have you. Pleased?"

"Over the moon." replied Dempsey. "Truly, over the goddam moon!"

"Fantastic! I shall book the church in the village and we'll have a grand party here after the christening!" announced Freddy.

"You've certainly got plenty of time to organize that, Daddy." laughed Harry. "My goodness, they say everything comes in threes, don't they. In the space of eighteen months, we'll have had three big parties here."

"Have you thought of any names yet?" asked Alice, still beside herself with excitement. "I can think of hundreds!"

"I'm sure you can, Aunt Alice." giggled Harry. "At the moment, we're calling it Scrumpy."

"Oh how delightful!" said Alice, then frowning. "But why Scrumpy?"

"Because whatever it'll be, it'll be scrumptious!" laughed Harry, then glancing down at Blondie snuffling at her hand and licking it. "She knows, doesn't she?"

"I wouldn't be at all surprised, darling." said Freddy. "Dogs have a sixth sense about these things. She's probably noticed a change in you."

Alice was still pondering names.

"I shall always know your baby as Scrumpy." she said, finally. "I love that. It will always remind me of today."

"Now Harry, do have something to drink, even if it's just squeezed orange juice." said Freddy.

"Have you any Perrier water?" she asked.

"Yes, I have." he replied, opening the small fridge housed in the sideboard and pulling out a bottle. "Ice and lemon?"

"Please." said Harry, nodding, then taking the tall glass from her father.

"Now, here's to Harry, James and Scrumpy!" said Freddy, raising his glass, everyone following suit. "Congratulations!"

"By the way, where's Abbott?" asked Harry as she sipped her drink.

"It's his day off." replied Freddy. "But he'll be back later tonight. Now, Alice and I were going to dine at the 'White Swan' tonight. I'll call them and tell them it's for four now."

"Lovely." said Harry, then looking over to Dempsey. "Darling, can you bring our cases to our room, I'd like to freshen up."

"Sure honey." he replied, finishing off his whisky and handing the glass to Freddie.

"The other wing?" asked Freddy, holding it up.

"Yeah, thanks." replied Dempsey, leaving to get their bags. "I'll be back before ya know it."

'No you won't' thought Harry, smiling, as she made her way up to their bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

**Safely fly the stork.**

**3.**

"Where on earth is James?" asked Freddy, looking over at Alice. "His whisky is getting drowned in the ice!"

She gave him a knowing look.

"Ah, yes." he chuckled, nodding at her. "I can remember when her mother was first pregnant with Harry. She was, how shall I put it, somewhat attentive towards me."

"And I'd imagine you enjoyed every single minute, darling brother." replied Alice, smiling at him. Her relationship with her step brother had always been an open one, they were friends as well as siblings and Alice had been his rock after Harry's mother had died suddenly of a massive stroke when only in her late fifties.

That was in 1976, when Harry was only 16 and Alice had assumed the role of surrogate mother to her, helping her through her grief as well Freddy's.

"She's certainly her mother's daughter." said Freddy, smiling back at her. "I suspect James isn't complaining, I certainly didn't."

"Do you think this baby has come too early for them?" asked Alice, slight concern on her face. "The ink is hardly dry on their marriage cerificate, after all."

"No, not for a moment, Alice dear." replied Freddy. "Their relationship is as solid as granite. If anything, this baby will enhance their marriage."

"Yes, of course you're right, Freddy." said Alice after pausing for thought. "Anyone can see they are devoted to each other. Isn't it wonderful? I mean, who would have thought it? Harriet was so destroyed after that bounder Robert had finished with her, I always wondered if she'd ever trust a man again."

"Had it not been for James, I don't think she ever would have, Alice." replied Freddy. "You have to remember, in fact, that she actually loathed him when they first met. But she brought him up here once and I warmed to him, immediately."

"Why? What did he do?" asked Alice, intrigued, never having heard about Dempsey's first visit to Winfield Hall.

"It wasn't so much what he did, it was more just how he was." replied Freddy, remembering. "I could see he was fiercly attracted to her, but Harry was very aloof and cold towards him."

"Well that doesn't surprise me." remarked Alice. "She was like that with _every_ male who came within a mile of her!"

"And having met a lot of them I didn't blame her!" chuckled Freddy.

"So what could you see in James?" asked Alice.

"There was a deep rooted sincerity about him." replied Freddy. "Don't forget, I spent a lot of time around very brave men in the war, undercover agents risking brutal torture and death at the hands of the Gestapo if arrested, who risked their lives every hour of every day. James reminded me of those men, brave, tough, single-minded men, arrogant some of them, yes, but ultimately straight and true."

"Did you take him aside at all? You know, try and explain why she was so icy towards him?"

"No, I took Harry aside."

"Oh really? What did you say?"

"I just sowed a seed." chuckled Freddy, recalling Harry's astonishment at how he'd talked so favourably about Dempsey. "And I think, after that, she started seeing him in a different light. She saw the man behind the mask."

"The mask?"

"Yes, I could see he wasn't as brash as he made out." replied Freddy. "I learned later he'd been betrayed badly by his partner in New York, who in fact had tried to murder him, and he'd taken on this devil-may-care attitude as a kind of self-induced therapy."

"But he is devil-may-care." argued Alice. "You can see it."

"Yes, but only when he needs to be." explained Freddy. "James is very astute and he knows to get his own way he has to be assertive, cock a snoop sometimes at authority, which can come across as blatant arrogance and a 'to hell with them all' attitude."

"Well I loved him the moment I set eyes on him." she said, wistfully. "I can remember distinctly thinking that if Harriet let this one slip through her fingers, she'd regret it for the rest of her life."

"And you were wrapped up with that cad, Sir Marcus Battersby-Thorpe at the time, so James must have made an impression on you!" grinned Freddy.

"Oh yes, so I was." chuckled Alice. (see 'Cuckoo in the Nest')

At that point, Dempsey and Harry strolled into the room, arm in arm, Harry looking decidedly flushed and happy.

Alice and Freddy exchanged smiles with each other.

"Ah, James. here you are." said Freddy, mischievously, handing him his glass of severely watered down malt. "Shall I freshen this?"

"Er, yeah, thanks." replied Dempsey, Harry biting her lip to restrain a giggle that threatened, the twinkle in her father's eye not lost on her.

"I thought we'd wander down to the village, take the dogs and have some lunch at 'The Tinkers Inn'." suggested Freddy as he busied himself with Dempsey's whisky.

"That would be lovely." replied Harry. "Assuming I'll keep my lunch down!"

"Oh darling. Are you suffering?" asked Alice, going to her side and rubbing her back.

"Yes, a bit." replied Harry. "But there you go, it can't be helped."

"I'll be sure ta have a paper bag in my pocket!" chuckled Dempsey, receiving a playful punch from Harry in the process. "Hey, I ain't jokin', honey, you see if I ain't."

They finished their drinks, gathered the dogs together and stepped out into the late morning sunshine, the weather mild and relatively warm for that time in March, but not quite warm enough for shirtsleeves only.

The village was two miles away and, at a leisurely stroll, they arrived outside the pub an hour later, the dogs back on their leads, tongues lolling out of their mouths and yearning for a bowl of water each.

Having decided to sit out in the warm sunshine and eat their lunch, they made their way to the beer garden at the rear of the pub, Freddy and Dempsey disappearing inside to order drinks, pick up some menu's and get water for Blondie and Gunner, whose leads were tied to the legs of the table, both lying down and panting.

Sitting at another table and within earshot, sat four teenagers, drinking beer and smoking, one of whom couldn't stop staring at Harry. Nudging his mates, he nodded over at her and said something, the other three looking round and sniggering.

Harry glared at them.

"Oooo!" said the starer, raising both hands in front of him, pretending to hold up an invisible handbag and pulling a face at her, before blowing her a kiss.

Alice had noticed her look, but with her back to the group, wasn't aware of what was going on.

"Anything the matter, darling?" she asked.

"No." sighed Harry. "Just some stupid little boys behind you. Don't bother turning round, it'll only make matters worse."

Alice ignored her and turned round anyway.

"What you lookin' at grandma!" asked the starer.

"Not altogether sure!" replied Alice, totally unfazed.

"Auntie! Please!" begged Harry, looking sharply at her. "Don't antagonize them! They're obviously bored and looking for trouble."

With that, the starer stood up.

"Oh God, here we go." groaned Harry, bracing herself as the young teenager began wandering towards her, a little unsteady on his feet.

Ignoring Alice, he leaned in close to Harry.

"You know what I'd like to do wiv you, eh?" he said, his breath reeking of beer and cigarettes. "You look like you're gaggin' for it."

At the same time Harry leveled her blue eyes at him, ice cold and unafraid, Blondie, sensing her danger, stood up and growled menacingly at the youth.

"This your mutt?" said the lad, glancing down at the labrador, who, by now, was baring her teeth, Gunner waking up and beginning to growl too.

As the kid brought his foot back and aimed it at Blondie, Dempsey emerged from the doorway to the pub, carrying a tray of drinks.

Assessing what was going down in an instant, he dropped the tray with a crash and charged the teenager, bunching his fist at the same time and hitting him with an uppercut right on the point of his chin, the youth collapsing onto the grass.

People on the other tables froze and stared, apart from one man in particular, who stood up as if to help.

The other three, seeing their mate fall to the ground and thinking they could take Dempsey out, jumped up and ran towards him. From within his linen jacket, he drew his Magnum and pointed it at all three, taking his badge out with the other hand and holding it up for all to see.

Harry was desperate to do the same, but that would mean Aunt Alice knowing her secret, so she reluctantly sat still and watched. But she noticed the other man, watching developments too and most carefully.

"Back off!" growled Dempsey. "Now!"

The three teenagers glared at him, wondering if he'd actually fire at them with all these people around.

Dempsey slowly cocked the hammer allowing a loud click for them all to hear.

"I ain't messin' here!" he said, his eyes blazing, then, kicking the starer on the thigh, deliberately aimed to give him a dead leg and satisfied at hearing the resultant groan, said. "Pick this clown up and get ya sorry asses outta here!"

"I fink 'e means it, Alf." said one.

"Yeah Buster, I mean it, make no mistake!" said Dempsey, his eyes still boring into all three of them. He backed away to give them room, his gun still pointing at them. "Pick 'im up an' get lost, or the cops'll be over here an' bang ya up for threatenin' behavour an' disturbin' the peace. Your call!"

Suddenly the other man walked over to them.

"I'm an off-duty sergeant with the local constabulary. Steve Evans." he said, joining Dempsey's side. "I've seen everything. I was about to sort these fools out myself but you seem to have everything under control pretty quickly."

"I've had practice." murmured Dempsey.

"Do you want to bring charges?" asked Sergeant Evans.

"Harry? Wanna book 'em? asked Dempsey, glancing down at her.

"No, let the idiots go." she replied, looking at each of them in turn, her tone of voice withering. "They are just silly little boys trying to be tough."

It was such a scathing put down it drew applause from those watching, the three teenagers looking as if they'd wish a hole in the ground would swallow them up there and then.

Sheepishly now, they hauled the starer to his feet and heads bent, shuffled out and left.

Freddy appeared then, carrying two bowls of water and seeing everyone staring in Dempsey's direction, sensed something had obviously happened. He'd been waylaid inside by a local tenant farmer, who rented one of his farms from him and who had a couple of urgent matters he wanted to discuss.

"Lord Winfield." said Evans. "Good afternoon, sir."

"Yes good afternoon Sergeant Evans." replied Freddy, then looking at Dempsey. "James? What's been going on?"

"Oh nothin' much Freddy." replied Dempsey. "It's all over now."

Alice piped up then.

"Ooh, Freddy you should have been here!" she squealed. "James was a positive _hero_!"

"Really Alice? Well tell me all about it in a jiffy, dear." replied Freddy, smiling at Dempsey then turning to Evans. "Sergeant Evans, this is my son-in-law, Lieutenant James Dempsey and his wife, my daughter, Lady Harriet. And my sister Alice."

"Good afternoon your ladyship, Miss Alice." said Evans, doffing an invisible cap at them. "And yes, well done Mr Dempsey. That was pretty impressive. Quite a weapon you've got there. May I see?"

Dempsey handed the Magnum over, Evans turning it around in his hand, weighing it and closing one eye as he looked down the barrel.

"They don't make them like this anymore, do they." he said, handing the gun back.

"Sure don'." replied Dempsey, before sitting down next to Harry. "Good ta meet ya anyway, Sergeant."

"Yes you too." replied Evans. "Are you over from America on holiday?"

"No, we live in London." replied Dempsey. "I work for the Brits now."

"Oh right." said Evans. "Well, I'll let you get on. Goodbye."

Harry took Dempsey's hand and kissed him. "What took you so long!?"

"Oh Harriet!" exclaimed Alice. "That's not very fair!"

Dempsey laughed out loud. "Alice, she's jokin'. Aren't ya?"

Harry giggled at the look of uncertainty on his face as he'd turned to her.

"Of course I am! Thank you, darling." she said. "That was beginning to turn ugly."

"What exactly happened?" asked Freddy, Alice quick to jump in and relate it all second by second.

"Honestly Harriet darling." gushed Alice. "You must feel _soo safe _with James by your side. He was just like Gary Cooper, Freddy, coming to rescue his lady from danger. Wonderful stuff!"

"He'll do." said Harry, resting her head on his shoulder, then looking up and kissing him again.

"Oh Freddy, do look at them. Aren't they just perfect together!?" sighed Alice, her eyes shining at the pair of them.

"I'd bedder get some more drinks." said Dempsey, standing up. "The other's kinda bit the dust."

When he returned, he'd also brought a menu each, so they selected their individual meals, Harry just opting for an omelette salad, the others full blown Ploughman's.

"Have you had any cravings for odd food yet, Harriet?" asked Alice as their meals were served.

"Not yet, Auntie." replied Harry.

"If you're anything like your mother, you'll start eating copious amounts of olives, Harry darling." said Freddy, tucking into his lunch.

"Ooo no, can't stand them!" replied Harry.

"Neither could your mother!" chuckled Freddy. "Positively hated them. Then when she fell pregnant with you, she couldn't stop eating them!"

"How very odd." said Harry.

"Jus' so long as ya don' get keen on onions, pickled or otherwise!" said Dempsey, glancing at her. "Know what I mean?"

"Yes, make things a touch awkward." she muttered under her breath, nudging him with her elbow, Alice and Freddy keeping their heads down and concentrating on their meals, suppressing knowing smiles.

They finished their meals and wandered casually back home, Freddy, Alice and the dogs striding ahead as Dempsey and Harry strolled along at a gentle pace together. Harry was suddenly caught short and held her stomach as Dempsey shoved a brown paper bag under her nose just as she brought up her lunch.

"See? Told ya, didn't I?" he said, as she rested against the trunk of a tree, gathering breath. "Here." He drew a small bottle of water out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "Swill that aroun' in ya mouth, honey."

"You think of everything, don't you!" she snapped, somewhat sarcastically, then filling her mouth with the water and rinsing it out.

"Yup." he said smiling, deliberately ignoring her, instantly making her aware of her own short tempered and unfair reaction to him.

"I'm sorry." she sighed heavily, tears in her eyes now. "I shouldn't have been so nasty."

"Honey, it comes with the territory." he said, pulling her to him. "I gotta skin as tough as a 'gators hide. I told ya. Shout an' yell all ya like. I know it ain't really you. I _know_ the real you!"

"Oh darling, please don't ever leave me!" she said suddenly, two tears starting their journey down each cheek. "I couldn't survive my life without you."

"Harry, come on. I ain't goin' nowhere, ya know that." he said, aware her emotions were playing tricks with her again. "We're gonna grow old an' wrinkly togedder."

"Not so much of the wrinkly, please." giggled Harry, nudging him in the ribs, his indifference to her mood swing restoring her natural sense of humour.

"Hey you two love birds." called Freddy waving at them, he and Alice now some way ahead.

Dempsey waved back as he and Harry set off after them, eventually catching them up as they arrived at Winfield Hall.

Relaxing in the drawing room later, enjoying afternoon tea, Harry risking a buttered scone with raspberry jam and Alice having gone for an afternoon nap, Freddy brought up the subject of Spikings.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"We haven't discussed it yet, Daddy." replied Harry, looking at Dempsey. "What do you think, James, should we tell him?"

"Aw, shoot honey, I dunno." said Dempsey. "That little incident at the pub brought it home to me how vulnerable ya are, though."

"Oh they were harmless." said Harry, not believing it herself for one instant, but she didn't want to stop working just yet and a desk job would drive her bananas.

"Harry, you can't say that an' ya know it!" said Dempsey. "It'd take jus' one dumbass ta kick ya in the stomach an' you could lose our baby. I ain't so sure I wanna risk that, in fact I _know _I don' wanna risk it!"

"James has a point, Harry." said Freddy. "You swim in dangerous waters and there's two of you, well three with James, for you to think about now."

"An' I gotta feelin' Spikings'll groun' ya, honey." ventured Dempsey. " He won' wan' it on his conscience if ya miscarry as a result of goin' 'bout ya duties."

"Oh God." said Harry, knowing they were right. "Look, I'm only six weeks, so can we leave it a little while for now? We aren't on a case, are we? Maybe we talk about it when, and if, one comes up."

"Okay." agreed Dempsey, knowing how much she wanted to stay his working partner. "I'll go along with that for now."

"Thank you. I'm going for a soak in the bath and get ready for tonight." she said, looking at Dempsey with mischief in mind. "Are you coming up, darling?"

"Yeah be with you soon." he replied, smiling at her and guessing full well what she was planning.

"She's going to take some stopping, James." chuckled Freddy, after Harry had gone. "You are going to have to use all your powers of persuasion to get her to take it easy, you know."

"Yeah, you're tellin' me!" he replied. "Don' ya worry Freddy. I'm gonna be her shadow everywhere she goes!"

"I know you will." said Freddy. "But you can't be everywhere at once, so think it through carefully, both of you."

By the time Dempsey walked into their bedroom, Harry was in the bath.

"Is that you?" she called.

"Who else were you expectin'." he said, popping his head round the bathroom door and grinning.

She giggled, then raised a shapely leg out of the soapy water, bent at the knee, before straightening it slightly and, parting her thighs, rested her heel provocatively on the edge of the bath, a look of raw passion clear in her bright, smiling blue eyes.

"Come on in, darling, the waters lovely."


	4. Chapter 4

**Safely fly the stork.**

**4.**

Their evening at 'The White Swan', was full of fun and laughter, although Harry didn't eat much, she was still hungry for Dempsey, at one point surreptitiously taking his hand in hers under the table and placing it on her thigh, right where her suspender belt met with the black stockings she was wearing.

Earlier, she'd let him get dressed and leave to join the others for drinks, before she'd selected her evening wear, wanting it to be a surprise.

Giggling at his reaction now, she carried her seduction through to their bedroom later, emerging from the en-suite bathroom naked, except for a see through, thigh skimming black negligee, her stockings and suspenders very much in prominence.

Needless to say they didn't get much sleep that night, Harry ever more insatiable until, by daybreak, her nausea kicked in and put paid to her passion for a while.

She hadn't eaten much in the last twenty-four hours and the combination of lack of sleep, together with the exhaustion constant wretching can bring, meant she was more than a little tired by the time the sun was well on its way into a clear, blue sky.

As she lay quietly next to a soundly sleeping Dempsey, her thoughts became pre-occupied with three things.

First was her sex drive.

Like any couple deeply attached emotionally to each other and physically compatible, voraciously so in their case, she knew that, presently, her heightened libido wasn't a problem.

But she worried as to what would happen if, or when, that began to wane, especially as she approached giving birth when her tummy would be huge and, to her, her body unattractive.

Would James still want her?

Would she still want him?

A relationship without sex was just companionship and although it wasn't necessarily the be all and end all, a vibrant sex life certainly was the glue that bonded that relationship, marriage or partnership together in absolute compatibility, thus protecting its ultimate strength.

Even before she'd fallen pregnant, her love life with James had reached levels she never thought possible, levels one only read about in sexy, passionate novels or watched in romantic, albeit, adult rated films.

Her love life wasn't just words on a page or scenes on celluloid though. It was real, exciting and glorious, not to mention adventurous, virulent, even experimental at times, but always scintillating and totally fulfilling.

Last night was testament to that.

She still glowed in its aftermath.

She never wanted that to change and was determined it wouldn't, but what could she do if she no longer tingled, shuddered or shivered at his touch or became passionately aroused by the manly, musky fragrance of his body?

Fake it?

Never! Not in a million years would she pretend!

Then there were her mood swings.

She'd had a heart to heart discussion with her doctor about those.

He'd told her it was common to have mood swings during pregnancy, because the hormonal changes taking place will affect her levels of neurotransmitters.

"What on earth are those?" she'd asked.

"Chemical messengers in the brain, Lady Harriet." he'd replied. "But look, please understand, every woman responds differently to these changes. Some experience heightened emotions, both good and bad, others feel more depressed or anxious. Most find that moodiness flares up at around six to ten weeks, eases up for a while, then reappears as the pregnancy winds to a close. Are you worried that your marriage will be affected?"

"No, not at all, doctor." she'd replied, safe in the knowledge that James had already shown his compassion and understanding so far, when she'd inadvertently snapped at him.

"Good, that's important." he'd said. "Your pregnancy could prove to be a stressful and overwhelming time for you both. You may be overjoyed at the thought of having a baby one day, then just as quickly begin wondering what you've let herself in for the next. And you might worry about whether you'll make a good mother or whether the baby will be healthy. All that is perfectly natural, Lady Harriet."

In finishing, he'd told her the physical symptoms of pregnancy, such as heartburn, fatigue, and frequent urination, could prove an unwanted burden and it wouldn't be uncommon to feel as though she'd lost control over her body and her life during this time.

"Lady Harriet, involve your husband every step of the way." he'd advised. "_You _may be carrying the baby but you're _both_ having it. He needs to be aware of the changes taking place within you, that way you're working as a team."

'And we're a wonderful team' she'd thought, and although all the concerns her doctor had voiced were beginning to take her emotions on a roller-coaster ride she knew she and James would work through them together.

Finally, there was her vulnerability.

The episode in the pub the previous lunchtime had frightened her, not that she was going to admit it or let it show. She desperately wanted to hang on to working alongside James, not through any jealousy of another person replacing her as his partner, but just that she loved him and her job so much.

Many relationships flounder and eventually fall apart if its conducted every hour of every day in each others pockets. Indeed, she'd often heard women remark that the only reason their marriages were still intact, was because their husbands could be bundled off to work for the day and leave them in peace.

Harry had experienced days without James and she'd hated them.

But how could she continue being his partner in a job that attracted so much danger?

The upshot was she couldn't and, of course, she knew it.

Her father had been right.

There were three of them now and it was her ultimate responsibility to see that no harm came to her or her unborn child. So, she was going to have to come clean with Spikings and take the desk job he'd invariably offer her.

These thoughts were still rolling around in her mind as Dempsey slowly awoke, so she snuggled into him, closing her eyes.

"Hey tiger." he said. "You awake?"

"Mmmm." she murmured, wriggling even closer to him. "Have been for hours."

"You been throwin' up again, huh?" he said.

"Constantly." she muttered. "Darling?"

"Yeah."

"You are still going to love me when I'm looking like a beached whale, aren't you?"

"Don' ask stoopid questions. 'Course I'll love ya." he said. "What's with the doubts, honey?"

"Oh, I've just been thinking about all sorts of things."

"What sorts of things?"

"Our love life, me being nasty to you and, well, you're right, I'm going to have take a desk job."

"Honey. Count One. Our love life might take a poundin' when Scrumpy's ready to pop, but we'll roll with the punches." he said. "An' count two. I already told ya, scream an' yell all ya want, I gotta a tough hide. An' count three. I guess Spikings won't wanna let ya go outta SI-10. He'll probably make ya his PA."

"Yes he might." she said, looking up at him. "But I'm still going to be worried about you. We've always kept each other safe, but I won't be with you anymore."

"Harry. Remember Paris?" said Dempsey. "When you were holed up in ya hospital bed gettin' over all that smoke ya inhaled, an' I was busy sortin' out that creep, Hani Ahmadi an' his idiot pals?" (see 'Smile of the Tiger')

"Yes, I do, why?"

"Don' you remember? I told ya I _knew_ ya were there with me." he reminded her. "We've always had that kinda telepathic connection, ain't we? Well, it sure was with me that day, honey. I could _feel_ it."

"Yes I remember now." she said. "I suddenly knew you were safe."

"There ya go then, so stop ya worryin' an' get on with bringin' Scrumpy inta the world."

As ever, voicing her concerns with him had relaxed her, her heart once more swelling with love and, as she reached for him, giggled as she noted it wasn't the only thing swelling.

'We're going to be fine' she thought, as her hunger for him took precedence once more.

After breakfast and in the privacy of Freddy's study, they called Gloria, who yelped with joy down the telephone at the news she was to become a grandmother.

As Dempsey had predicted, she announced she was booking herself on the first flight to London.

She told Harry she was going to need someone beside her, who'd already been through a pregnancy and this, almost throwaway remark, intentional as it had been to give comfort and support to Harry had, nevertheless reminded her, painfully, that this was the time she would miss her mother so much.

Seeing the tears in her eyes after she'd finished the call, Dempsey had naturally asked as to why she had become suddenly emotional, at which point she had broken down in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably for a while in between telling him the reason.

Dempsey just held her close, letting her sorrow gradually work itself through and thankful that Freddy wasn't witness to it, as it would have upset him too.

For Gloria's part, she knew Alice would be there in total support, but Alice had never borne children, so, without actually saying as much, Glo was going to assume the role Harry's mother would have taken, had she been alive.

After she'd settled down, Harry nipped back to her bedroom to repair her make-up, then rejoined Dempsey in the drawing room where he was enjoying pre-lunch drinks with Freddy and Alice.

"Glo's booking her flight, Daddy." she said, grinning at his astonished face. "She's going to call back once she's got all the details. Are you okay with that?"

"Certainly." he replied, clearly pleased. "I was going to take up her invitation to visit New York, but your wonderful news has put paid to that. Not that I'm complaining, darling."

"And I've missed her too." said Alice, beaming. "It'll be fabulous to have her here again so soon."

"Well honey, we're sure gonna have a formidable support network aroun' us, ain't we." smiled Dempsey.

"You certainly are." grinned Freddy. "In fact, we'll spend most of the time at the house in London, so we'll be close by and available whenever you need us."

Just then Abbott knocked on the door announcing lunch was ready and on seeing Harry and Dempsey said.

"Ah Miss Harriet, Mr Dempsey, may I offer you my heartfelt congratulations on your news. If there's anything I can do to help, please say so."

Harry went to his side and pecked his cheek, his face reddening with embarrassment.

"Thank you Abbott." she said. "That's lovely of you."

"Yeah, thanks Abbott." echoed Dempsey, joining Harry and shaking Abbott's hand.

After lunch and while relaxing in the drawing room, drinking coffee, Alice having retired for her regular afternoon nap, Harry told her father she'd be relinquishing her role as Dempsey's partner in SI-10.

"Ah, so the penny's dropped has it, my darling." he said, smiling at her and strolling to her side, whereupon he tapped her forehead lightly with his forefinger. "He'll be forever in here, won't he. I witnessed that mental connection you two have when I was by your hospital bed last year. Quite astonishing."

Harry smiled back and kissed him.

"Yes, James reminded me of that this morning." she said. "We do have something unique, that's for sure."

"So, next stop, Spikings." said Freddy. "Are you going to tell him tomorrow?"

"I think so, yes." she replied, glancing at Dempsey for agreement, he nodding in return. "I don't think he'd be too impressed if he found out we'd kept it quiet. Anyway, we're not involved in a case right now, so it gives him plenty of time to think what to do with me."

"If I read Chief Superintendent Spikings correctly, he won't want you anywhere else than in SI-10." said Freddy.

"James thinks he might well want me as his personal assistant." said Harry.

"And I think you're perfectly accurate with that assumption." replied Freddy, nodding at Dempsey.

"Well, we'll know tommorra." he replied.


	5. Chapter 5

**Safely fly the stork.**

**5.**

While Alice was taking her nap, Freddy, Harry and Dempsey took the dogs for a short, half hour walk, the afternoon, although clear and bright, becoming colder as dusk approached.

Arriving home, Abbott reported that Gloria had called back and would be on a flight out of JFK International to Heathrow the next morning, scheduled arrival two in the afternoon.

"Oh how marvellous!" said Alice, now up and about and drinking a cup of tea in the drawing room when they told her Gloria's news. "I've really missed her company."

"We'd better leave first thing tomorrow and get ourselves settled in the London house in that case." said Freddy. "I can collect Gloria then."

"We'll be on our way too now, Daddy." said Harry, "How about if we come for dinner tomorrow night. I'm sure Glo will want to see us as soon as possible."

"Splendid! If you're sure, of course. You aren't exactly eating much, are you." replied Freddy.

"Don't worry about me." said Harry, taking Dempsey's hand, as they headed for the car. "I'll be okay."

He followed them out, Abbott having loaded their bags, the dogs, now woken from their post walk slumber, charging about with renewed energy.

Bringing them to heel, the two labs sat obediently at Freddy's feet, Aunt Alice's arm through his and waving with the other, which prompted Harry to reach for her small, pocket sized camera.

It made for a lovely photograph.

Tired out from her broken night, she slept the whole way back and felt refreshed and alive once more upon waking. Almost inevitably, this set her desire for Dempsey alight again and it didn't take long for him to lift her into his arms and carry her, giggling and nuzzling him, into their bedroom.

The following morning on their way into SI-10, they stopped off at the hospital to see Winnie, finding her tucking into a breakfast of two boiled eggs, some toast and a cup of tea.

"'Ello 'Arry, Mr Dempsey." she beamed. "You got some news for me, ain't ya."

"Yes Winnie, we have." replied Harry, perching on the edge of her bed and smiling at her. "I'm pregnant, just as you guessed."

"Oh that's wonnerful news." she replied, glancing at Dempsey. "You pleased, Mr Dempsey?"

"Couldn't be happier, Winnie." he replied. "An' listen, call me James."

"Prefer Jimmy." she said, cheekily.

"Hey, Jimmy it is." he grinned.

"S'pose you been frowin' up all over the place, Arry." said Winnie, popping some boiled egg into her mouth and waving the empty spoon in the air. "'Ope this don't get yer goin', luv. Is it bad?"

"It isn't very nice, that's for certain." she replied, the smell of the egg making her stomach churn. She swallowed, then carried on. "Every morning so far, sometimes during the day too. I'm up and down to the loo throughout the night as well. I'm not eating much either."

"Well, wouldn't worry yer 'ead 'bout eatin', luv." said Winnie, biting off a piece of toast, oblivious to Harry's growing discomfort. "Sprog's only the size of a pea, ain't it? 'Ow far gone are yer, anyway?"

"Six weeks." replied Harry, standing up, distancing herself from the food. "Today is the start of the seventh."

"I'd say yer got 'bout nuvver free weeks of it, then yer'll calm down." said Winnie, this time taking a drink of tea. "You lookin' after 'er, Jimmy?"

"You bet." he replied, grinning. "She's doin' okay."

"Yer can't go much wrong wiv 'im, can yer 'Arry." she said, smiling at her and nodding towards Dempsey. "'E'll make a great dad an' all."

"I think he'll measure up." replied Harry, reaching an arm round his waist and smiling at him.

"They goin' to discharge me in a cuppla days." said Winnie, smiling. "Be glad to get back to me little flat. But I won' be workin' yet, still healin'. When you goin' to drop it out then?"

"Officially November 28th." replied Harry, feeling slightly better now she was standing, and chuckling at Winnie's turn of phrase. "But who knows? Could be later, maybe earlier. Anyway, that's great news, you're going home. We'll be sure to pop by and see you in a week or so."

"I'll look forward to that both." she grinned as they made to leave. "I'll 'ave the kettle on!"

"Lovely." replied Harry. "Sorry it's just a flying visit, but we're on our way into work and late as it is."

"You get off then, don' mind me." replied Winnie. "'An I'm real pleased for yer. Real pleased. See yer soon."

Harry just about made it to the first toilet she saw, disappeared inside and threw up. Splashing her face with water from the wash basin, she dabbed it dry with some paper towels before swilling her mouth out with some Listerine.

Dempsey was there waiting for her when she stepped back into the corridor.

"Guess Winnie's breakfast ain't done ya much good, huh honey?" he said, putting an arm around her shoulder as they walked back to the car.

"No flies on you detective." she replied, sarcastically, as she circled his waist with her arm. "I'm not actually bringing anything up! Nothing in my stomach really."

"Yeah, it must be tough." he replied. "But ya gotta keep tryin' ta eat, Harry."

"I do try to eat, James, you've seen me." she replied. "Dry toast, plain biscuits or crackers."

"Try some pasta tonight." suggested Dempsey." I seem ta remember Ma sayin' somethin' once 'bout how good it is for pregnant women. In fact, I'll betcha, she'll have some ready for ya when we meet up tonight."

When they walked into the office, Spikings' door was closed, although his voice could still be heard. After he'd finished his conversation, Harry glanced over at Dempsey, raised her eyebrows and nodded towards his door.

Taking her hand, they strolled over and knocked three times.

"COME!" boomed Spikings, looking up from his desk at them as they walked in.

"Ah, so you two have decided to grace us with your presence this fine Monday morning, eh?" he said, sarcasm oozing with every word.

"Yes, sorry we're a bit late, sir." replied Harry. "Only we promised to pop by and see Winnie Simons."

"Oh yes, the unfortunate prostitute who fell into the clutches of that Davidovich fellow." remembered Spikings. "How is she?"

"She's fine, sir." replied Harry. "They are discharging her in a couple of days."

"Good." he said, looking back down at the papers on his desk, expecting them to leave. When they didn't he glanced back up at them.

"Is there something else?"

"Yeah Chief." said Dempsey, getting straight to it. "Harry's pregnant."

Spikings looked from one to the other then back again, his mouth opening and shutting, clearly surprised and wondering what to say.

Finally he came round his desk and shook Harry's hand, reaching for Dempsey's at the same time.

"Er, well that's great news. Many congratulations." he said, smiling, adding with a little cynicism. "That didn't take long, did it."

"It wasn't planned, sir." said Harry, sharply, in no mood for Spikings' sarcasm, he looking a little taken aback at her directness.

"Ah no, no, I'm sure it wasn't." he replied, a little out of his depth, for once, especially since he and his wife, Mary, had never had children. "Presumably you are going to go through with it."

"What!?" exclaimed Dempsey. "You think we might abort our child!?"

"Steady on, Dempsey, old chap." replied Spikings, looking a little flustered. "Of course you won't abort it. My apologies for even mentioning it. Don't know what I was thinking."

Sitting back at his desk and gathering his composure, he then looked at Harry.

"Presumably, you know I can't allow you to remain Dempsey's partner now." he said.

"Yes sir." she replied. "But I would like to remain on the team though, if you could find me a place, that is."

"When do you expect to give birth?" asked Spikings.

"Middle of November, sir. Roughly"

"Ah right. Plenty of time to weedle you in somewhere." he said, grinning. "I don't want to lose you, Harry, so let me think about it."

"Thank you sir." she replied. "Er, any idea when you'd have an answer for me?"

"By the end of the day, I should imagine, Sergeant." said Spikings.

Dempsey, not one to beat about the bush, wasn't going to let Spikings mull it all over and come up with a solution neither he nor Harry would want.

So he came right out with it.

"Chief, make her ya PA." he said. "It's a no-brainer! She knows how everythin' operates, she could do the job standin' on her goddam head!"

Spikings wasn't sure whether to bite his head off for trying to tell him his job, or applaud him for suggesting an excellent solution.

He did neither.

"What do you think about that, Harry?" he asked instead, stroking his chin in thought. "Could you survive working directly for me?"

"I think I could manage it alright, sir." she replied, smiling at him, trying not to appear too derisory at the same time. "But I think you should know that, at some point, I'll want to return to my work as Dempsey's partner. So, I suppose, I'm asking if you'll accept me in the role on a short term basis."

"How short term?" he asked.

"Six months, sir." she replied. "I'm already nearly two months pregnant and may not be able to continue after October. Then, of course, I will be on maternity leave and intend taking the full twelve months entitlement."

"You do understand in that case, you'll have to undergo re-training as and when you wish to return to active duty? Are you absolutely sure you'll be able to handle being mother to an infant as well as exposing yourself to danger again?"

"Ye..Yes sir." she replied, hesitantly, suddenly not altogether sure now.

In all the excitement of discovering her pregnancy, the resultant elation and happiness, the joy it's brought to her and James, not to mention Freddy, Glo Alice, her friends and Winnie even, coupled with the downside of nausea and mood swings, she hadn't really thought about the long term implications.

Spikings looked at them both.

"You really haven't thought this through properly have you?" he said. "Look, as far as I'm concerned, the jobs yours until you leave to give birth, Harry. I'll just have to clear it with the Commissioner, but I don't see him having any objections. However, as for the long term, I think you and Dempsey need to discuss things further, don't you?"

She nodded, knowing he was right.

"There's nothing pressing at the moment, so why don't the two of you toddle off somewhere and have a chat." suggested Spikings. "Take the rest of the day if needs be, then drop back in here later when I should be able to rubber stamp your new, albeit, temporary role, Harry."

Thanking him they both left and returned to their desks.

Spikings sat and pondered, thinking seriously about their conversation, working it around in his mind, eventually coming to a conclusion.

"Where'd ya wanna go, honey?" asked Dempsey, looking a little solemn.

"Home?" she suggested, getting up. "We've a lot more to discuss all of a sudden, haven't we."

They didn't say much on the journey, both deep in thought and once home, sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, a pot of fresh coffee bubbling away on it's hotplate and looked at each other, gathering those thoughts together.

Dempsey spoke first.

"I guess we should throw out the 'what ifs', honey."

"The 'what ifs'?" she queried.

"Yeah, the 'what if' you fall pregnant again quickly." he said and speaking directly, continued. "_If _you did, you'd be kissin' ya career adios amigo, ya know that, doncha."

She thought for a moment.

"Before I met you and fell in love with you, my career was all encompassing, James." she said. "It was all I'd got and I threw myself into it, mainly because it was the only thing to block out the hurt and pain I was feeling at the time. But my focus has changed completely. I have you now and Scrumpy growing inside me. While SI-10 is still very much part of my present, it's not going to play much of a part in my future. So, _if_ I fell pregnant again soon after Scrumpy, I'd embrace it and be more than happy to be your wife, mother to our children and a homemaker to you all."

"You mean that?" he asked.

"Of course I mean it, darling." she said, smiling lovingly at him. "And actually, I'm only assuming I'd want to get back to full time work, once Scrumpy is a year old, but that could change too. It's often been the case that a woman, who's never considered herself very maternal, has fallen desperately in love with her baby once she's held it in her arms for the first time. I may never be your working partner again."

"Honey, ya _love_ ya work." replied Dempsey, quietly thrilled at her words, but playing devils advocate for a moment. "Ya love the thrill of the chase, the danger, the glow of success when we nail them badass sonofabitches. Ya gonna be happy swappin' that for screamin' babies, cookin', cleanin' an' whatever else?"

"Yes James. Totally." she smiled, then patted her stomach. "This baby, this little Scrumpy in here, has changed everything for me. You could say, my work has been my baby. Then you came into my life and my focus began to alter even then. It became watered down, not so vital to my wellbeing. I'm deeply in love with you and making love with you, well, I've gone to places I never thought reachable. And for that to have given me, us, this ultimate prize..."

By this time, he'd slipped off his chair and was pulling her to a standing position, her arms reaching around his neck, his around her waist, their lips caressing each others, their eyes locked together, passion swimming in them.

Silently she took his hand and led him into their bedroom.

Lying on his back later, Harry with her head on his chest, Dempsey ran through their conversation in his head.

"So, honey, you sayin' that after ya six months are up, ya might kiss SI-10 goodbye?" he asked, eventually.

"I'm keeping an open mind for now, darling." she replied, raising her head and kissing his cheek. "But if I find I just can't leave Scrumpy, I'm not going to be ruing ever having him or her, just because I can't dash around the place playing cops and robbers. And anyway, even if I did, I think I'd be rather selfish, don't you?"

"How come?" he asked.

"I'd be leaving Scrumpy and deliberately putting myself in danger?" she replied. "Not very fair, is it?"

"No, guess not." he agreed. "S'pose I'd be doin' the same though."

"Yes, but come on James, you're not going to be the only father in the Force with a family, are you." she said. "I know how you love your work. And you're brilliant at it. So don't go thinking you've got to give it up."

"You could think 'bout returnin' an' bein' Spikings PA again, of course." suggested Dempsey. "I think ya should bounce that one off of him when we go back later. Keep ya options open, huh?"

Harry sat up and looked at him.

"Actually yes." she said. "I wonder if he'd agree to me being part time too. Say 9.30 til 3. That way, like any working mother, I could take Scrumpy to nursery, school later, go into work and still be there to bring him - or her - home."

"An' housework?"

"I'd have a cleaning lady come in during the week, just to keep on top of things." she replied. "I'd be at home at the weekends to do all that."

"An' no nannies?"

"Nannies!?" exclaimed Harry. "Absolutely not! No-one's bringing up Scrumpy, but you and I."

"Hmmm, no chance of a French au-pair runnin' 'bout the place then." he chuckled. "All dressed up in her maids tunic."

Harry giggled, a naughty thought coming to mind.

"You pervert! I might surprise you - if you're good that is."

"Yeah? So what do I have to do to be good, huh?"

"Just make love to me again." she whispered, kissing his neck, then his chest, her mouth moving on down over his stomach...

When they returned to SI-10, Spikings was waiting and ushered them into his office, closing the door after him.

"Now Harry." he said, smiling. "Have you two come to any definite conclusions?"

"Yes sir, we have." she replied.

"Let's hear them then." he said.

"Thinking things through, thoroughly sir, I doubt I'll actually want to return to full time active service after all. To put myself in the path of danger with a child at home, would be a step too far, I feel."

"Yes, understandably." agreed Spikings, sensing she hadn't finished. "Go on."

"Well sir, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll want to stop working altogether." she continued. "And with that in mind, could you keep my PA position open?"

"Er..." his mouth opened in answer, then closed again as she continued.

"And sir, just before you answer that, I feel I must be clear and suggest if it could be on a part-time basis?" asked Harry, crossing her fingers under the desk.

"So you'd like your cake and eat it too, eh?" he said, his expression giving nothing away.

Harry straightened up and looked him in the eye.

"Yes sir." she said, bluntly.

Although he rarely showed it, he held a lot of affection for her, admiring her beauty, intelligence and tenacity not to mention her honesty, integrity and brevity in the face of extreme danger.

He looked back at her, then pushed an A4 size document in front of her.

"Sign this." he said, his face still impassive.

Dempsey read it over her shoulder and smiled.

The contract in front of her stated exactly what she'd been asking for, right down to an option to take up the position again, together with the hours to be worked after she'd returned from maternity leave - Spikings had been a step ahead of her all the way.

Harry looked up at him, fighting to keep her emotions in check. They weren't close to the surface because he was giving her what she wanted, it was more to do with him having the foresight and compassion to put himself in her shoes, recognise the conflict between her affection for SI-10, her desire to remain in Dempsey's working orbit and how her pregnancy will affect her future.

Noting her eyes watering, he held out a pen and nodded at it.

"Here." he said.

With a trembling hand she took it, breathed deeply to steady it, then signed her name.

"Thank you sir." she said.

"Start first thing tomorrow morning, eight o'clock sharp?" he said, smiling.

"Of course, sir." she replied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Safely fly the stork.**

**6.**

When Harry and Dempsey arrived home that evening they were both elated, Harry especially.

She'd realised that, albeit subconsciously, she'd been confused over how her future in SI-10 would evolve now she was pregnant, and, although loving the thought of being a mother, knew that life as she'd known it up until March 17th when her pregnancy had been confirmed, was going to be dramatically different.

Her time as an undercover detective had run its course and her roller coaster of emotions had one minute sent her into deep sadness of that fact, the next minute overtaken by the joy of impending motherhood, then back down into uncertainty as to whether SI-10 would ever feature in her life again.

And not knowing if she wanted it to feature once more anyway, had, in her subconscious, unsettled her, because her exact future had been in doubt.

But now it had been clarified and, despite Spikings's sarcasm, she _was_ going to have her cake and eat it.

Even though she wouldn't be in the thick of the action anymore, she was going to be where she wanted to be - still helping Dempsey in bringing those 'badass sonofabitches', as he liked to call them, to book, yet without putting herself in the line of fire.

Prior to falling pregnant, she'd sometimes wondered, in the odd moment, if becoming a parent would prove to be so much of a sacrifice, she wouldn't actually go through with it.

But she'd not been feeling broody when those thoughts had swum through her mind, so the love of her job had taken absolute precedence at the time. Now that she actually had a life growing inside her, her perspective had been turned completely on its head.

There had been a message from Angela left on her ansaphone and when Harry called back, all she got too, was Angela's recorded voice. Leaving a message of her own, she joined Dempsey on the sofa and sipped a cup of coffee, while he enjoyed a glass of Jack Daniels on the rocks.

"Happy honey?" he asked, knowing she was overjoyed at her new role in SI-10 but wanting to hear her say so, all the same.

"Totally, utterly, absolutely." she replied, snuggling closer to him. "He might be a difficult so and so, but our Mr Spikings is a pretty shrewd operator isn't he? He read our minds completely."

"Yeah, I gotta hand it to him." agreed Dempsey, chuckling. "He pushed all the right buttons in all the right order for once."

Over at Freddy's Belgravia mansion, Alice and Gloria had been talking non stop ever since Glo, having been taken on a tour of the beautiful house and it's grounds, had sat down in the spacious, wood panelled drawing room and accepted a glass each of chilled Krug champagne from Freddy.

"The poor darling is suffering with morning sickness." Alice was saying, sipping her wine. "I don't think she's keeping anything down, you know."

"She probably ain't eatin' the right things anyway." replied Glo, sipping hers too. "What's on the menu tonight?"

"Chicken chasseur I think." said Freddy. "Chef can do something special for Harry though."

"Is he here now?" asked Glo.

"Yes, he's in the kitchen." replied Freddy, as Gloria stood up and disappeared in its direction.

When she returned some ten minutes later, Alice and Freddy were amused to see a look of self satisfaction on her face.

"You look pleased with yourself, Glo." remarked Freddy, smiling. "Success with the chef?"

"Sure Freddy." replied Glo, grinning widely. "He's gonna do 'er some chicken with pasta an' rice. She should be able to keep that down. Every woman's different of course, but I've seen that recipe have more success than failure."

"Excellent!" said Alice, returning Glo's smile. "She'll be able to enjoy dinner with us and not feel too left out."

"Yeah, that's kinda an added bonus." replied Glo.

At Harry's, she and Dempsey were about to leave for Freddy's, when Angela called back.

"Hi Angela." said Harry, chuckling. "We keep missing each other."

"Harry!" said Angela, ignoring the remark and clearly excited. "Guess what!"

"Go on, what?" she replied, knowing instantly what Angela was about to say.

"Ollie's proposed!"

"Never! When? Where?" replied Harry, excited too for her.

"This morning - in bed of all places." giggled Angela. "And we've only just got up!"

"Wow Ange! That's some celebration!" laughed Harry. "Have you set a date?"

"No, not yet." replied Angela. " Been er - bit wrapped up in each other, so to speak. But, look, we're throwing a party at his parents place on Saturday. Loads invited. You and James can come, can't you?"

"Angela, we wouldn't miss it for the world." said Harry. "But why don't we meet one evening, just you and me, and you can tell me all the juicy details."

"Okay, tomorrow night? Romano's?" suggested Angela.

"Perfect." replied Harry. "Does eight o'clock suit you?"

"Yep, darling, see you then, bye."

As Harry replaced the receiver, she beamed at Dempsey, who raised his eyebrows in question.

"Ollie's proposed." said Harry. "My wedding bouquet has come up trumps!"

"_Your _wedding bouquet?" he repeated, looking puzzled.

"Dear God, Dempsey, for a brilliant detective, you aren't half slow on the uptake at times." giggled Harry. "Yes, don't you remember? When a bride gets married she throws her wedding bouquet into the air to be caught by a guest. And whoever catches it, is the next one likely to get married. Angela caught mine."

"Oh yeah." he said. "Guess I was too fired up over you at the time to notice!"

"Hmmm, you certainly were fired up, I'll give you that." she giggled again, recalling how they sneaked back to their room and made love in the middle of the celebrations.

"Yeah too goddamn right I was." chuckled Dempsey, those warm and wonderful images coursing through his memory. "I seem to remember you'd gone commando. An' nothin' fires me up than _that_!"

"Don't I know it!" she replied, kissing him, her eyes turning mischievous. "Odds are I'll fire you up later too."

Before she gave in to her rising desire for him, she slipped an arm through his and steered him towards the front door as their taxi's horn blew.

"Phew!" she muttered as she settled into the rear seat and snuggled close to him as his arm went round her shoulder.

"What." he said, looking at her.

"That was a first!" she replied. "I've actually resisted taking you back to bed! Just!"

"Shame we're goin' out then." he chuckled. "But I'll have ta wait!"

"You will." she replied, tapping the end of his nose, then kissing it." You know, I feel a bit sorry for you men."

"Why?" he asked, intrigued.

"Isn't it said, men think about having sex every seven seconds!?" she replied.

"I dunno 'bout that. But, yeah, we think 'bout it a helluva lot more than you ladies."

"Hmmm, well I think about it more than I did." she replied. "And I've wanted it a lot more since being with you, anyway. But now, it's even more than that!"

"Can I survive?" he said, playfully clutching his heart with his free hand and pulling her even closer to him.

"You will if I have anything to do with it." she giggled. "My doctor said my hormones are responsible for my current sex drive, so make the most of it, darling. As this little Scrumpy in here grows, so I'll calm down."

"Not too much I hope." he replied, smiling.

"Oh, there's not much danger of that." she said, leaning across and kissing him again.

When they arrived at Freddy's, Abbott ushered them through to the main lounge, where Gloria and Alice were, as usual, deep in conversation with each other, both nursing a second glass of champagne.

Glo was on her feet the instant they walked into the room, hugging Harry close, before kissing Dempsey on the cheek, the pride on her face clear for all to see.

"You clever people!" she said, brightly. "An' you son, finally ya gonna make be a grandmama!"

"Bedder late than never, huh Ma." he replied, grinning.

"Now what about drinks you two." said Freddy. "Don't tell me. Perrier, ice and lemon for you Harry, whisky on the rocks for you, James."

"Yes." they both answered together, taking their drinks as he handed them over.

"I'm changing jobs." said Harry, knowing Freddy was desperate to know what had transpired with Spikings, but not able to ask without exposing to Alice and Glo, her life as an undercover detective.

"Are you indeed." said Freddy, his blue eyes twinkling. "What will you be doing?"

"I'm going to be Chief Superintendent Spikings's personal assistant." replied Harry, then looking at Glo and Alice. "He's James's boss."

"Oh how wonderful, you'll be working together then." said Alice, clearly delighted for her.

"Yes, I can keep my eye on him, now." replied Harry, looking at Dempsey and smiling. "And the great thing is, my position will be kept open for me should I want to take it up again when Scrumpy is a year old."

"Who in the hell's Scrumpy!?" exclaimed Glo, looking around at everybody, an astonished look on her face.

Harry pointed to her tummy. "In here." she said, giggling at Glo. "Since we've no idea whether I'm having a boy or a girl and because we don't want to refer to him or her as 'it', we've come up with Scrumpy."

"I get that." replied Gloria. "But why Scrumpy?"

"Short for scrumptious, Glo." said Alice. "I think it's a lovely nickname."

"Oh I see." chuckled Glo. "I guess it's sweet, yeah. Now, Harry, honey, ya father's said I can stay as long as I like, so I'm gonna be here for ya. If ya need any help or advice, ya only gotta call."

"Oh thank you, Glo." replied Harry, hugging her. "That's lovely of you."

"You're welcome, honey." smiled Glo, returning the hug warmly.

"Congratulations Harry, darling." said Freddy, changing the subject. "You'll make an excellent PA."

As was expected the evening was a joyous affair, although, due to the conversation turning heavy with talk of babies, pregnancy and giving birth, Dempsey and Freddy left the women to it and disappeared into the snooker room for some light relief!

Gloria's suggestion for Harry's dinner proved to be accurate in that, for the first time, Harry didn't feel nauseous at all and this, coupled with her inflated libido, meant Dempsey didn't get much sleep that night.

Her first day as Spikings' PA was spent re-organizing his weekly diary, prioritizing, confirming or moving appointments around consistent with others and making him coffee, the latter she reluctantly accepted as par for the course.

She remained at the same desk though, the general office space being restrictive at the best of times and received a large bouquet of flowers from all the guys, congratulating her on her pregnancy.

Dempsey was taken to the local pub at lunchtime and the combination of several shots of whisky, coupled with the previous night of little sleep, meant that, once home, he was soon making up for it on the sofa, Harry kissing him goodbye as he slept and leaving him a note saying she wouldn't be back too late from her pre-arranged evening with Angela.

When she walked into Romano's, Angela still hadn't arrived and rather than sit at the bar and become a target for the odd businessman looking for a bit of extra marital fun, she elected to be shown to her table and await her friend, sipping, what now was becoming, her standard drink, Perrier water with ice and lemon.

Angela came breezing in a few minutes later, full of apology and ordered a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc.

"So Harry, how's the pregnancy?" she asked, taking a worthy sip of her wine. "Mmm, that's hit the spot! Yes, you coping okay?"

"I feel wonderful actually, despite the morning sickness." said Harry. "That can be a bit debilitating as you can imagine, but, for the first time last night, I ate a proper meal and didn't bring it up!"

"Gosh, what was this magical meal?" asked Angela.

"Chicken, pasta and rice." replied Harry. "Gloria's here. She jumped on the first flight she could get when we told her our news and is staying with Daddy in London. The meal was her idea."

"Is she staying long?" asked Angela, a firm favourite of Gloria's.

"Yes, Daddy has said she can stay as long as she likes." replied Harry, smiling. "And I have a feeling she's going to last the full nine months and beyond! Anyway, enough about me - you're engaged!"

"Yes! At last!" beamed Angela, holding up her hand, a solitaire diamond ring sparkling on her wedding finger. "We'd been out and then hit the sack and were at it like rabbits nearly all night! When we woke up he pushed all my buttons again, to put it mildly, ahem - and then suddenly popped the question."

"And I thought James and I were a rampant couple!" giggled Harry. "Did he leap out of bed and get down on one knee?"

"No, not then." replied Angela. "But last night he took me to dinner and, in the middle of the restaurant, knelt in front of me, produced this ring and asked me to marry him."

"How romantic Ange." said Harry, taking hold of her hand to study the ring. "That's beautiful. Angela I'm really thrilled for you. And you're throwing a party this Saturday."

"Yes. There'll be loads of people." said Angela. "All our friends and a lot of Ollie's I haven't even met yet. So it should be quite a do. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"Angela! I'm not ill, just pregnant. You're as bad as James, I had to tell him the same thing too!" laughed Harry. "Okay, I'm suffering with morning sickness, but it does seem to be confined to the mornings only. I haven't felt like throwing up in the day for about forty-eight hours now and apart from being up and down to the loo several times in the night, things seem to be settling down."

"I suppose I've got all that to look forward to now." said Angela. "But not for a while."

"That's what we said!" exclaimed Harry, both of them finding that highly amusing and laughing together.

Ollie Murray, Angela's fiance, was Managing Director of his family's sprawling publishing empire, wealthy in his own right, owned a small Mews cottage in South Kensington and drove a red Ferrari Testarossa.

However, given that the engagement party was to be attended by nearly two hundred guests, Ollie's father, Sir George Murray, had been happy to let them hold the party at his mansion in Sussex.

When Harry and Dempsey arrived, they were shown into the house and out into a huge marquee, already buzzing with conversation and laughter from the many already there.

Taking a glass of champagne from a waiter with a full tray of the sparkling wine and ordering a Perrier for Harry, Dempsey, his arm round her waist, steered her towards their group of friends, Rupert and his wife Lady Arabella and Hugo and Belinda.

When they saw them approaching, Harry was sure she detected worry on their faces, but put it down to her imagination. Standing in the group was an exceedingly attractive blonde who she'd never seen before.

"Hi Harry, hi James." said Arabella, her eyes concerned, Harry sure they were conveying some sort of warning. "Er, this is Jessica."

"Hi Jessica." said Harry, smiling and holding out her hand to shake hers. "I'm Harriet Dempsey and this is my husband, James."

"Hello." replied Jessica, nervously, lightly gripping Harry's outstretched hand, Harry puzzled at her apparent uneasiness and convinced now something was amiss.

Arabella was about to try and take Harry aside when a familiar sounding voice piped up behind her.

"Hello Harriet. It's been a long time."

Harry froze.

She slowly turned round and came face to face with Robert Makepeace.


	7. Chapter 7

**Safely fly the stork.**

**7.**

Harry's eyes resembled blue ice as she stared coldly at the face before her.

The face she had fallen in love with, then, just as swiftly, fell out of love with, that emotion having turned to disgust, humiliation and loathing.

Her hand found Dempsey's and held it tightly, he feeling the tension in her body, the urge to punch this smirking face before her until it was a mass of blood and torn skin, making him shake with anticipation.

The others stood stock still, wondering what the next few seconds would bring, Rupert and Hugo acutely conscious of Dempsey's mounting anger.

Harry finally spoke.

"Long time Robert?" she queried, her eyes, bitter arctic, still leveled at his. "Not long enough!"

"Still the fiery Harriet." he sneered. "Nothing changes."

"No and it never will where you're concerned!" she replied, the words as frigid as the polar expression on her face.

"Oh Heavens above Harriet." responded Robert, smirking. "Can't we let bygones be bygones? After all, we were happily married once."

Harry couldn't believe her ears, the other's mouth's, apart from Dempsey's, dropping open in astonishment at this totally bogus remark.

"You sanctimonious bloody creep!" replied Harry. "That's not even worthy of a reply. Now please leave."

"Harriet, Harriet." said Robert, his green eyes mocking. "You loved me, would do anything, and I mean _anything, _for me. Doesn't that count for something? Can't we be friends?"

Harry had reached the end.

With an open palm, she slapped him hard aross his face, the smack sounding like a firecracker going off, his cheek reddening immediately from the blow, but a look of triumph in his eyes.

"You've got your answer, now go and crawl back under your stone." she said, her eyes remaining glacial, contempt plain in them.

Robert didn't budge, scorn clear on his face.

Dempsey gently pulled Harry away from Robert and stood in front of him, his eyes, not ice, but blazing and boring into him!

"What parta get lost don' ya understand, buster." he said, his voice low and controlled, betraying the now boiling urge to take him apart. "The lady don' want ya, an' I sure as hell don', so I reckon ya should get that sorry butt of yours in ya hands and take a hike, huh?"

"Oh my God." snarled Robert. "Lady Harriet's got herself a bloody Yank. I thought I'd heard something, but I didnt want to believe she'd stoop that low!"

He didn't see the left hook that connected with the bridge of his nose, blood immediately coursing from his nostrils, or, through watering eyes, the right hook to his chin that followed it up. All he could remember afterwards was seeing stars and shocked faces as he dropped to the floor.

Other guests fell silent and stared, as two burly minders appeared and gripped Dempsey's arms, ready to haul him away and throw him out.

"STOP!" shouted a voice as Angela came rushing up, Ollie close on her heels. "Oh no, I knew this was going to happen!" she exclaimed, then looking at the minders, said. "Okay, let Mr Dempsey go, please. Take that creature on the ground instead. I don't care what you do with him, but just get rid!"

Then, as Robert was marched away, she went to Harry's side, taking her arm and gently walking her away, Ollie putting his arm round Dempsey's shoulder and following them out of the marquee and into the house.

Stepping into a cosy study, Harry sat down, still unnerved at the shock of seeing the hated Robert again.

"Harry I'm so sorry." said Angela, concern written across her face. "I've been looking out for you to warn you he was here. Neither of us knew he was coming until he walked in. He's apparently dating Jessica now, she's an old flame of Ollie's. I must have missed you arriving."

"Don't worry Angela." replied Harry, smiling weakly. "I know you'd have warned us, given half the chance."

"You alright James?" asked Ollie, grinning, his days as a county rugby player, fights commonplace, leaving him unfazed at the recent fracas.

"Yeah fine." grinned back Dempsey. "I've been wantin' to do that for goddamn years!"

"Thank you darling." said Harry, reaching for his hand. "Supercilious bloody bastard had that coming to him!"

"Don't leave on his account, will you?" pleaded Angela. "We'll have him thrown out."

"No, don't do that Angela." replied Harry. "There's no need. It would only give him some sort of sick pleasure. He won't come near us again, if he's got any sense!"

"You okay with that, James?" asked Ollie.

"Yeah, no probs!" replied Dempsey, smiling. "An' hey, while I got the chance. Congrats you two."

When they returned to the marquee, conversation was in full flow again, some women looking appreciatively at Dempsey as he passed by, the men jealous of the beauty on his arm.

Arabella, Rupert, Hugo and Belinda were relieved to see their four friends approach them with smiles on their faces.

"Bloody good punch, James." grinned Rupert, who'd known and disliked Robert Makepeace ever since Harry had introduced them.

"Two punches Rupert." reminded Hugo, equally loathing of Robert. "Second one was a corker!"

"I don't know! You boys!" said Belinda, chuckling. "Can't we all sit down somewhere now."

"Yes, good idea, sweetheart." said Hugo and led the group over to a vacant table, the girls taking a seat each, the boys going to the bar to get some drinks and returning with their respective orders.

"Well! That was all a bit exciting!" said Arabella, looking round at everybody, hoping to get the evening back on track as Joyce and Roger suddenly appeared and drawing up two more chairs, sat down with them.

"You okay Harry?" asked Joyce. "We'd just arrived and saw Robert talking to you. I said to Roger, if Robert doesn't watch his mouth, he'll have James to answer to. Seems I was right."

"Damned good show, old boy." remarked Roger, grinning and who'd boxed for Oxford University when a student. "Perfect one, two!"

"Thanks Rog." grinned Dempsey. "Guess I was askin' for an excuse to wipe that goddamn smirk off of his face."

"He's going to have two beautiful black eyes!" giggled Angela. "He'll look like a soppy great Panda before the night's out!"

That broke the still hovering tension, everyone bursting into laughter and settling into the evening at last.

After they'd all eaten and listened to speeches from Ollie and his parents, the DJ got to work, getting everyone up on the dance floor immediately to 'Nutbush City Limits', Ike and Tina Turner's massive, bouncing hit. Following that up with Mud's 'Tiger Feet' then Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love', Harry was exhausted and, holding Demspey's hand, pretended to stagger back to their adopted table, laughing, happy and gasping for a drink.

In the meantime, Robert had disappeared into a bathroom to stem his bleeding nose and accompanied by Jessica, who fussed about him like a concerned mother hen.

"For God's sake leave me alone!" he snapped, Jessica bursting into tears and sobbing her way back to the marquee.

While Dempsey had gone to the bar to fetch a couple of drinks, Harry spotted Jessica, upset and sitting alone.

She'd been there when ensnared in Roberts web and took pity on her.

Catching her eye and beckoning her over, she took her hand as she sat down next to her and looked into her eyes.

"He's not worth your tears, Jessica." she comforted. "I should know, I shed enough of them on his behalf."

"But I love him so much." replied Jessica, her voice beginning to break.

"I know. He has that effect on women." said Harry, sighing, then leaning forward and looking directly into Jessica's hazel eyes. "I fell for it and went the extra mile. But, believe me, Jessica, you need to be aware he'll cheat and lie to you without remorse or an ounce of guilt. I'm not going to diss him any more to you, that would be lowering myself to his level, but just so you know what you're letting yourself in for."

"Don't you think he loves me, then?" asked Jessica, her eyes pleading for her to say he did.

"He probably does in his own way." replied Harry. "But then I thought that when he married me, only to find other women thinking he loved them after he'd charmed them into bed. He all but destroyed me, Jessica, but I'm the happiest I've ever been now and found the love of my life. We're having our first baby too."

Jessica was about to offer her congratulations when they were both aware of another person's shadow falling over them. Looking up, Robert was standing there, glaring at Harry.

"Oh, so you've got a bun in the bloody oven. Well, well, I wondered why you'd got married." he sneered.

"You despicable bastard!" retorted Harry, close to tears at his inference that hers had been a shotgun wedding. As always he knew exactly what buttons to press.

Robert continued.

"And I suppose you're filling her pretty little head with all your bollocks!" he snarled, grabbing Jessica's hand and attempting to pull her to her feet.

She fiercly resisted him.

"Go away Robert." she warned eventually, snatching her hand out of his. "I need some time to myself and think."

"You really are a little bitch, aren't you, Harriet." he sneered, then looking down at Jessica. "Jess, take no notice of this scorned excuse for a woman. She's talking utter rubbish."

"GO AWAY!" shouted Jessica, angrily.

"You really have a problem with them ears a yours, huh dumbass!?" said Dempsey, who, having seen Robert hovering over Harry and Jessica, had swiftly returned to the table, flexing his fists as he went. "I guess ya oughta beat it before I really let myself go on ya!"

"Oh grow up Yank!" replied Robert, contemptuously. "You're not in the Wild West now."

If it hadn't been for Angela seeing history about to repeat itself and calling her bouncers over, heaven only knows what state Robert Makepeace would have been in if Dempsey's wrath had been given free reign.

Arriving at the table, she glared at Robert, the two powerfully built men flanking him on either side

"Not content with trying to ruin my party once, Robert, you have the disrespect to attempt it again." she growled. "Unless you leave, right now, on your own behalf, I'll have you unceremoniously dragged out of here by these two gentlemen. And if you accidentally bruise yourself in a few places on the way out, Mr Dempsey here, an off duty police officer incidentally, will testify you tripped and fell of your own accord. Do I make myself chrystal clear?"

Appearing as cool as cucumber on the outside but trembling with fear on the inside, Robert glared round at everybody, finally resting appealing eyes on Jessica.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

"No, go away." she replied, tears back in her eyes once more.

Robert shrugged and pushed his way past them all, walking briskly out of the marquee without a backward glance. Jessica broke down then, Harry and Angela comforting her.

"You're well rid of him, darling." said Angela. "Why not come with me. There are several elligible and handsome males milling about. I'm sure one of them, at least, will take your mind off that idiot Robert."

Winking at Harry and Dempsey, Angela took Jessica by the hand and led her into a throng of four guys standing on the edge of the dance floor. It wasn't long before one tall, slim and good looking young man, arm around her waist, took her dancing.

"Jeeze honey." said Dempsey, placing his hand over Harry's. "Beats me how you ever put up with that creep, Robert."

She wasn't going to tell him what Robert had inferred regarding their marriage and baby. With her emotions so close to the edge, she'd never know what prevented her from flying at him, but she knew if she told Dempsey, there was no telling what he'd do. It would send him over the edge.

Instead she took a deep mental breath.

"Thing is, darling, he's quite the opposite when you first meet him." she said, looking into his eyes. "Charm personified. He has the ability to make you feel like a Queen, nothing's too much trouble. Problem is, he loves the chase, but once he's caught you, he's achieved what he set out to do and simply moves onto the next target."

"What? An' ya didn't discover that til ya married him!?" queried Dempsey.

"No I didn't" replied Harry. "He must have proposed a dozen times before I said yes and even then I wasn't totally sure I'd done the right thing. But I had fallen for him - I suppose I loved him but didn't like him. Anyway, marrying me was his aim. By doing so, he knew he'd finally caught me. Then it was downhill all the way!"

"I can see why ya were so - er I guess - anti men when we first met." said Dempsey, a part of the jigsaw that was their romance finally falling into place, since he'd always known she'd been hurt, but never having met Robert, hadn't appreciated what he was capable of.

"And you being the over confident American didn't help." she laughed, remembering how he rubbed her up the wrong way early in their relationship.

"Yeah well, that's history now." he replied, leaning across and kissing her mouth. Her arms went round his neck automatically as she kissed him back, passion flowing as their lips played with each others.

"Get a room!" said Rupert, laughing, as he, Arabella, Hugo and Belinda joined them, panting hard from their exertions on the dance floor.

"Did I see Robert back here?" asked Arabella, a look of surprise on her face. "I'd have thought he got the hint earlier."

"Yes, you saw him." sighed Harry. "Jessica was really upset and I was giving her some friendly advice when Robert decided to invade our privacy."

"I'll bet that didn't go down too well with you James." chuckled Hugo.

"Nah, guess not." replied Dempsey, smiling. "Sonofabitch came real close, _real _close."

Just then Roberta Flack's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' slowed everybody down on the dance floor, Harry taking Dempsey's hand and leading him to it.

"I love this song." she whispered, sighing as his arms enveloped her, closing her eyes as the lyrics flowed in, turning her on, her desire for him mounting as she sang the final verse, softly, to him.

"And the first time, ever I lay with you, 

I felt your heart so close to mine, 

And I knew our joy, would fill the earth, 

And last, till the end of time, my love, 

And it would last, till the end of time, my love."

As the song ended and Harry stopped singing, he lifted her face to him and kissed her lips, their bodies pressed into each other, both knowing the night ahead would be sensuous, mesmerizing and deliciously erotic.

"God I wish we could go to bed right now." she said, softly. "But I think it would be a little obvious, don't you."

"Er, jus' a little, honey." replied Dempsey, smiling at her, then swaying her into the gentle rhythm of Foreigners, 'Waiting For A Girl Like You' as the cascading organ keys of the opening sequence pierced the air. 

Along with their other close friends, they were staying in the ten bedroomed country mansion that night and, although they were finding it tough to keep their desire each other under wraps, still stayed the course with the rest, dancing, laughing and, in Dempsey's case, drinking until, slipping under the covers of their duvet, they finally ignited the intoxicating passion they'd kept in check most of the evening.


	8. Chapter 8

**Safely fly the stork.**

**8.**

When Robert arrived back at his apartment in Notting Hill, he parked his Audi Quattro in his space in the underground car park and sat still for a while, his mind racing with an anger and spite all of its own.

'How dare that bitch turn Jessica against me!' he thought, heatedly. 'It's all very well for her, happily married and with a kid on the way. She deserves neither!'

As he made his way to the lifts, his mind was full of revenge.

'The little cow lost all interest in me after we were married'. he thought. 'Turned frigid in bed, indeed rubbish in bed and sullen out of it. And that bloody stuck up bastard of a father too. He cut me dead every time!'

Half a bottle of gin later and his mood was blacker than ever.

"I'll teach that snooty family a lesson they'll never forget" he growled, drunkenly, to himself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Dempsey and Harry both awoke at the same time and looked at each other, their lips coming together instantly, their softness re-igniting their passion, Harry gently sliding on top of him, reaching for him, their bodies fusing into a sensual rythym.

Lying quietly together afterwards, fulfilled, happy and at peace, the moment was lost as a sudden rush of nausea hit her.

Leaping out of bed, she dashed to the bathroom, Dempsey closing his eyes in sympathy for her, as he listened to her wretching and coughing, then the sound of water splashing her face, followed by the rinsing out of her mouth with what he knew to be her Listerine.

Although unpleasant, she was becoming used to her bouts of morning sickness, and beginning taking them in her stride as a result. Having bought and read some books on the subject in the week, she realized she was getting off relatively lightly compared with some women, who could be so ill with it, they'd be confined to bed.

Emerging from the bathroom a few minutes later, she slipped back into bed quickly, shivering, and snuggled into him for warmth.

"Brrrr! Don't they have heating in this house?" she queried, her breath minty and fresh but her skin like ice. "It's as cold as hell!"

"I guess the winter ain't quite left us yet, honey." replied Dempsey, pulling her closer to him and grabbing his gold Rolex from the bedside table, noting the time at only six am. "It _is _only six in the mornin' anyways up."

"Hmmm, is it?" she murmured, as she kissed his cheek, before whispering, as the cosy warmth sent her back to sleep. "I love you."

By nine thirty, they were dressed, showered and strolling, arm in arm, into the dining room, Joyce and Roger the only other two there.

"Good morning." greeted Joyce, smiling at them both, before tucking into a bowl of corn flakes, Roger already finished with his and helping himself to the breakfast buffet, complete with fried or scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes and bacon, sausages, mushrooms and baked beans.

"Morning." replied Harry as she risked a bowl of cereal, Dempsey following Roger with a full English.

As they began to discuss the previous night's party, their host and hostess joined them, both looking decidely tired, Harry stifling a giggle at Angela's pale complexion, despite her friend looking pleased with herself. Dempsey caught Ollie's eye and smiled at him, knowingly, Ollie grinning back at him.

With the remaining four joining them a few minutes later, the room was soon full of laughter and chattering, no-one wanting to mention the incidents involving Robert, Harry and Dempsey, until Belinda, unaware of the full history surrounding them, brought the subject up.

"That chap Robert made a lot of trouble last night." she said, innocently. "How long were you married to him, Harry?"

For a moment a hush went round the table, everyone glancing at Harry until Angela spoke.

"We don't really want to talk about him." she said, quietly, smiling almost apologetically at Harry.

"No, no it's quite alright." she said, noting Angela's concern and looking over at Belinda. "Too long, Belinda. He made my life a misery."

"Oh dear." replied Belinda, conscious of the elephant suddenly in the room. "I..I'm sorry I asked."

"You weren't to know." said Harry, shaking her head. "Suffice it to say, he's out of my life now."

"Yeah, an' he'll stay outta it if he's got any sense." murmured Dempsey, biting into a sausage skewered on his fork, the hum of a chuckle circulating amongst the boys.

But the memory of what Robert had said to her came rushing back, tears beginning to fill her eyes at its nastiness, Angela noticing her mounting distress instantly.

"Excuse me." said Harry, suddenly, as she got up from the table and exited the room swiftly, Angela immediately on her feet and following her. As Dempsey, obviously concerned, began to rise too, Angela quickly spoke.

"James, I'll go to her. It's probably morning sickness. You finish your breakast. She'll be okay."

He hesitated, but Angela had already gone and thinking he'd only get in the way, sat down again and took a drink of coffee.

Angela found Harry in the study, sobbing uncontrollably and put her arms around her, hugging her until she finally took hold of herself, dabbing her eyes and blowing her nose.

"Harry what on earth's the matter, darling?" she finally asked. "Is it something to do with Robert?"

"Erm... yes." replied Harry, choking back more tears that threatened her.

"Why? What did he say that's got you so upset?" asked Angela.

"I..I don't kn..know how he man..manages to get t. to me." she stammered. "But he jus..just snarled at me an..and said I _had _to get mar..married because I'm preg...pregnant."

"Bastard!" growled Angela. "Harry, come on darling, you're all over the place with your emotions right now. You'd have shrugged off that vile remark with ease otherwise. Have you told James?"

"God no!" replied Harry, alarm at the thought of what he'd do clear on her face. "He'd bloody kill him!"

"Yes, I think he would!" chuckled Angela. "He must never know, Harry."

"Well I'm not going to tell him!" she replied, indignantly.

"No, no of course you aren't. Neither am I." said Angela, fully aware of the havoc Harry's pregnancy hormones were wreaking on her emotions, never having seen her dear friend so close to the edge.

"How could I _ever_ have loved that _vicious _animal!?" asked Harry, clearly fighting with her memories. "I must have taken leave of my senses!"

"Darling, you just got swept up in the moment." replied Angela. "Look at Jessica. She's beautiful, vivacious, could have any man, yet, after just a few weeks, she was utterly besotted with that creep!"

"Hasn't she known him that long then?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Nooo, not five minutes really!" replied Angela. "I had quite a long natter with her last night. She's a lovely girl, deserves a whole lot better than Robert Makepeace I can tell you!"

"I hope you warned her off in that case, I certainly tried." said Harry.

"Oh I think she got the message, Harry." replied Angela, smiling "Especially when she paired up with Justin van De Bleurs."

"Who's Justin van De Bleurs?" asked Harry.

"Only the heir to a diamond mine in South Africa." giggled Angela. "Very, _very _rich. And he's drop dead gorgeous too. No, I think Robert's seen the last of her."

"And no doubt I'll get the bloody blame!" muttered Harry, dejectedly.

"Come on Harry, stop this." urged Angela, gently. "You've nothing to worry about with that hunk James by your side."

"No, I haven't have I." said Harry, smiling for the first time in a while. "I love that man so much Angela. He's my life."

"I know, darling." replied Angela. "And he'll be looking for you any second now, so are you okay to go back?"

"Yes alright." said Harry, a weak smile on her lips.

"That's the Harry I know and love." said Angela. "Come on, go finish your breakfast."

When she sat back down at Dempsey's side, he could see she'd been crying.

"What's up, honey? You been cryin'." he said, quietly, placing his hand on hers. "Sickness gettin' the bedder of ya?"

"Yes a bit." she replied, the slight cheer in her voice masking her true emotions. "And I haven't even eaten much yet."

"You wanna get off home after we've had this?" he asked, softly.

She glanced at him and nodded, not feeling sociable enough to join in with the others, her appetite having been lost too.

"Right." said Ollie, looking around the table at everyone. "Who's for a nice walk in the countryside then?"

"We're gonna pass on that, Ollie." said Dempsey, quickly. "Hope ya don' mind but we'll make tracks."

"Yes, I'm sorry everybody, but I don't feel quite up to it." apologized Harry. "But thanks for last night. Despite Robert Makepeace, we had a great time, truly."

Angela glanced at her with sadness in her eyes, but understanding too.

"Harry don't apologize." she said, smiling broadly. "It's fab you could make it. I'll give you a call later."

As far as Dempsey was aware, Harry was sound asleep on the way back home to London, whereas in reality, she was just dozing, drifting in and out, unwilling when half awake, to say anything in case her fragile emotions got the better of her and she blurted out what Robert has insinuated the night before.

Angela had been right. Under normal circumstances, Harry would have dismissed his cruel jibe without a second thought. Certainly it would have been hurtful, but she would have risen above it, not let it get under her skin.

But something good usually comes out of something bad and the incident had demonstrated to her just how brittle her emotions were at the moment.

All those times she had snapped at Dempsey for no apparent reason had been unfair and, as she sat, eyes closed, in her seat, she felt tears filling them again as the image of the hurt expressions he'd tried so hard to mask, filtered into her memory.

She silently swore to herself that, in future, she'd try to swallow her ire and find a plate to smash instead of biting his head off! As she sat there and thought about that, her mood lightened, so by the time they entered the city, she was feeling more or less, back to her old self.

She stirred, opened her eyes and looked across at Dempsey, reaching for his hand.

"Hey sleepy head." he said, smiling back at her. "You're awake. Wanna stop off some place for lunch? Ya can't have eaten much. We could find an Italian restaurant an' get some pasta down ya."

"Yes okay. I _am _hungry and pasta might be the answer." she replied. "Do you know anywhere near here where we could go?"

"Yeah Gino's." said Dempsey. "It ain't far, an' it's ya typical Italian bistro. Proper food!"

"Good." she replied, rummaging in her handbag for lipstick, flipping the sun visor down and freshening her appearance in the built-in mirror housed there.

The restaurant was just as Dempsey had described it. Small, intimate with tables covered in red and white, checked cloths, the waiters all Italian and buzzing around Harry, keen to attract her attention, testing the water to see how close she was to the man buying her lunch, despite the glittering rings on her wedding finger.

For all they knew, she could be playing away and it wasn't every day a woman so strikingly beautiful as her graced their bistro.

Dempsey took their attention to his wife all in his stride as they enjoyed their meal, ribbing her about their blatant attempts at flirting, until one of them, as he collected their empty plates, fleetingly touched her shoulder.

For him, that was too close to the line and he stood up, throwing his napkin down on the table in front of him and glaring at the young man.

Harry reached for his hand.

"James, he didn't mean it, darling." she said, pulling him down to his seat. "It was just an accident. Let it go. I've had enough of confrontations this weekend!"

"Okay angel." he replied, reluctantly, his eyes never having left those of the waiter's, as he slowly lowered himself back down onto his chair.

She turned his face towards her, leaned over and kissed him, gently, sensuously, leaving the watching lotharios's in no doubt as to who was the most important man in her life.

As ever, the touch of their lips sent shivers through them both.

"Wanna leave now?" he whispered, in between kissing her.

"Mmm, I want you." she replied, softly, her hand slipping to the inside of his thigh and scratching it lightly.

"Check?" he said, looking directly at one of the waiters, who scampered away, returning a few minutes later with the bill and a bottle of red wine.

The slight contretemps between Dempsey and the waiter had got to the ears of the manager, who, rather than speaking directly to him and risking igniting the incident again, felt the subtle presentation of a gift would suffice and ensure his clients would visit again.

Other than to Harry, Dempsey would rarely, if ever, apologize to anybody for anything, and he wasn't about to start now. Selecting the correct amount from his wallet, he laid the notes on the table, slid Harry's chair back for her, took her arm, the bottle in his other hand, gave them all a slight nod and escorted her out of the restaurant.

"It was nice of them to give us a bottle of wine, darling, wasn't it?" she said, as she slid into her seat and buckled up.

"Least they could do." he replied, curtly.

"Oh James, I do think you're overreacting a bit." she said. "Come on, what's really the matter."

He looked across at her, then stared back out through the windscreen.

"I guess comin' face to face with that sonofabitch Makepeace after all this time, got to me." he admitted. "I've been buildin' a picture of him in my mind for years, an' he didn't disappoint. Seein' him jus' brought back the pain I'd always imagined he'd put you through. I jus' wanted to rip his goddamn head off!"

"Oh darling. You certainly came close to achieving that!" she laughed, leaning across and taking his hand, her heart bursting with love and affection. "But you didn't have to take it out on those silly young waiters though, did you?"

"Mebbee not." he replied. "But my feelin's are still kinda raw from last night."

"Hmmm, well take me home and we'll see what I can do to calm you down." she murmured, her lips caressing his cheek.

He grinned at her as he started the car and drove swiftly to their house, Harry throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him as, giggling together, they half walked, half stumbled up to the front door.

Sat parked in his red Audi Quattro, newly acquired and consquently not recognized by Harry, Robert Makepeace watched as his ex-wife, who he still loved, disappeared into the house, a house in which he had once spent many an intimate hour with her, when their relationship had been young and new.

His eyes were blackened from Dempsey's punch on the nose and his jaw still ached from the right hook he'd taken on the chin.

Earlier in the day, he'd called Jessica at home, only to hear what could only be a man nuzzling her in the background as she spoke, and the unmistakable sound of a rustling duvet.

She told him their relationship was over for good and he'd slammed his 'phone down, seething with anger at Harry and that filthy Yank for causing him to lose one of the best lays he'd had in months.

Now, the thought of that skanky American with his hands all over Harry, taking her to bed, making love to her exquisite naked body as she moaned and writhed in pleasure, she reciprocating in every way, only served to fuel his determination in bringing her new found happiness crashing and burning to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

**Safely fly the stork.**

**9.**

Dempsey and Harry had spent the entire afternoon in bed together, making love, drifting into sleep, waking up and making love again. Their physical need for each other, apart from their natural, fierce desire, had, this time, also been borne out of the tensions harbouring their emotions, Harry's due to Robert's vicious remark and Dempsey's through eventually coming face to face with him.

Finally sated, they were relaxing in the lounge that evening when the telephone rang.

"Hi darling." said Angela. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh hi Ange." replied Harry, cheerfully. "I'm feeling wonderful!"

"Oooh! How come? You _do _sound different!" chuckled Angela. "What's been the recipe? I'd love to know!"

"Mmmm, I think you can guess." giggled Harry, glancing at Dempsey, deep in a Sunday paper and not taking much notice.

"Ah ha, _that_ recipe!" laughed Angela, huskiness having crept into her voice. "I know _just _what you mean. I have that pleasure to come later, darling. Not much chance this afternoon with a housefull of guests though!"

"Poor you." giggled Harry, again. "Has everyone left now?"

"Yes, all gone on their merry ways." replied Angela. "Listen, we girls thought we'd have a 'boys free' night this week. You know, get together and talk about anything and everything?"

"Hmmm. I can guess the topics." laughed Harry. "Sex and Brad Pitt being top of the agenda, no doubt."

"How did you guess!" giggled Angela. "Always a worthy subject! So, what do you think? You up for it?"

"Of course, yes." replied Harry. "Where do you suggest?"

"We thought Stringfellows." suggested Angela. "Okay with you?"

"Yes Stringfellows is fine." replied Harry, then chuckling. "I presume they serve non-alcoholic drinks!"

"Of course! God, it must be awful not being able to drink, though." said Angela.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you." replied Harry. "But it doesn't bother me. I suppose I'm conscious there's a new life growing inside me and in no way do I wish any harm to come to it. The thought of dry martini's or wine going anywhere near my baby is a real turn off!"

"Oh Harry." said Angela, her heart going out to her friend. "It can't be much fun seeing those around you getting steadily drunk while you remain sober though, can it?"

"No, no I can handle it." replied Harry. "So, this Friday? Would that be the best night to get together? That way you lot can nurse your hangovers over the weekend."

"Sounds just perfect, darling." agreed Angela. "Oh and Ollie's going to get the boys together, so they can 'do their thang' too. I think we know what _they'll_ be talking about!"

"Sex, women, cars and sport?" replied Harry, grinning at Dempsey as her words caught his attention. "Oops, that's got James's interest!"

"Ha! What was he doing then?" asked Angela.

"Just buried in the Sunday Times!" giggled Harry, as Dempsey grinned back at her. "Until those four words filtered into his brain."

"What? You two cookin' somethin' up, huh?" he smiled, flicking the page of his newspaper straight and reading it again.

"It speaks!" said Harry, giggling at him yet again. "Okay Ange, Friday it is. What time?"

"Actually why don't we go for a meal first, then Stringfellows." said Angela. "I mean, the club doesn't come alive until at least ten o'clock!"

"Okay." agreed Harry, hesitatingly. "I hope I can last the course, though. Can we go to Romano's? It's just that pasta dishes don't make we want to throw up as soon as I've eaten them!"

"Deal!" said Angela. "Eight o'clock at Romano's."

"Great. I'll look forward to that." replied Harry. "Bye Angela. Love to Ollie."

"I'll be giving him an awful lot of that in just a minute, get my drift?"

"Oh, I think so!" replied Harry, laughing as she replaced her 'phone.

"What was all that 'bout, angel?" asked Dempsey, glancing at her over his newspaper.

"I'm having a girlie night out on Friday." she replied, sitting down next to him and snuggling close.

"Yeah? Romano's and Stringfellows by the sounds of it." he smiled.

"Nothing much gets past you, does it, detective." she laughed. "Especially as I announced them out loud!"

"You gonna be okay?" he asked, ignoring her sarcasm, smiling at her instead. "Want me ta drop ya off?"

"I don't think you'll be called on for that." she replied. "I'll get a cab because Ollie, apparently, is organizing a get together for you boys, so I'd guess he'll be the next one on the 'phone. That's if Angela lets go of him this evening of course!"

"Got plans for him, huh?" chuckled Dempsey, knowingly.

"Oh yes! And I'd level a bet she's carrying them out as we speak!" replied Harry, chuckling at the thought of Angela wooing Ollie into bed and devouring him.

Not long before they were about to retire for the night, the telephone rang again, this time it was Ollie asking to speak to Dempsey.

Harry passed it over to him.

"Yo Ollie. How goes it pal?"

"Bloody exausted mate." chuckled Ollie. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. Listen, I understand Ange and the girls are off out next Friday, so how's about a poker night round at mine."

"Hey sounds great!" replied Dempsey. "Time?"

"Eight okay?" answered Ollie.

"Sure, no probs. see ya then, pal."

"So? What are you boys going to get up to while we're living it up at Stringfellows?" asked Harry, as he replaced the telephone.

"Poker, honey." he replied. "Trouble is, I've not played the game for yonks!"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll pick it up again, darling." she said, before leaning over to him, her mouth close to his ear. "Now, why don't you pick me up and carry me to bed."

He grinned and scooped her up in his arms, she already beginning to whimper sexily, as he carried her into their bedroom.

When Friday night came round, they shared a cab, dropping Harry off first at Romano's, Dempsey going on to Ollie's apartment in Holland Park.

All the girls were there when she walked in, standing at the bar drinking champagne and chattering away ten to the dozen, several male heads turning their attention away from this group of stunning ladies for a moment and staring at Harry as she approached them, clearly mesmerized by her.

After about five minutes a short man, mid thirties, with thinning brown hair walked up to Harry.

"Excuse me. Are you Harriet Makepeace?" he asked.

Harry stared at him for a second.

"No, I'm _Mrs_ Harriet Dempsey." she replied, holding up her left hand, allowing her breathtaking rings to glisten and glitter in front of his eyes. "Who wants to know, anyway?"

"Sorry, my name is Stuart Adams." he replied. "I know your ex husband Robert. He used to show me photographs of you."

"Is that right." said Harry. "No doubt you enjoyed looking at them."

"Oh they were perfectly respectable." he grinned.

"Yes, they would have been." replied Harry, glaring at the little man. "If you know my ex husband, then you'd surely know we have been divorced for several years and I have since re-married." replied Harry, her eyes as cold as her tone.

"No, Robert didn't tell me you had got married again." he said, somewhat sheepishly. "Is your husband here with you?"

"No he isn't, he's playing poker with my friend's other halves." replied Harry. "Not that it's any business of yours!"

Angela, seeing Harry's anger begin to build at yet another reminder of Robert, stepped in, the other girls watching.

"Listen chummy." she said, glaring at him. "We are on a night out together and certainly don't want the likes of you bothering us. So _do_ one!"

"Okay, okay, don't get your knickers all twisted up, there's a good girl." replied Stuart, backing away. "Only being friendly."

He was greeted with five pairs of distinctly unfriendly eyes, opened his mouth as if to speak, thought better of it and turned on his heel, returning to the group of males with whom he'd been sitting.

"Dear God, did my weekly stars say something about unwanted males invading my personal space!?" sighed Harry, taking a sizeable draught of her Perrier water. "I must have missed them if they did!"

"Come on, our tables ready." said Arabella, keen for the atmosphere to change. "I could eat a horse and its saddle!"

As the group made their way over to their table, Stuart and his friends followed them with their eyes.

"Who's the stunning blonde, Stu?" asked Jeremy James, a married, thirty eight year old investment banker.

"Lady Harriet. Robert Makepeace's ex wife." replied Stuart. "Lovely isn't she. Her fathers a Lord and owns some stately home in the country."

"Rich too then and drop dead gorgeous!" replied his friend. "Don't they say these country girls are usually begging for it? I could show her a thing or two between the sheets. Is she a model?"

"No idea matey." replied Stuart. "But she's married again now, so you've no chance. Anyway, according to Robert, she was crap in bed."

"Wonder if they're going on to Stringfellows." questioned Jeremy, taking no notice of the detrimental remark. "It's 'Ladies Night', so it stands a good chance they are. Might try my luck. If you don't ask, you don't get."

"If they are it'll be interesting." said Stuart.

"Why?" asked Jeremy.

"Because I happen to know Robert's there too tonight with a new piece of skirt." replied Stuart, grinning. "I think I might call him. Forewarned is forearmed, don't they say?"

When Robert received that call, he sat for a moment, a plan running through his head. Then, picking up his telephone again, he made a series of calls and when finished, whistled happily on his way out to hail a taxi.

It was approaching eleven o'clock and, as ever, Stringfellows was humming when the girls walked down the stairs into the heart of the club. Women of all ages, shapes, sizes and colour were everywhere and for a man on the hunt that night, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Harry, Angela, Arabella, Joyce and Belinda managed to find an empty space on the corner of the bar and claimed it for themselves, ordering two bottles of champagne and a bottle of Perrier.

As Bryan Ferry's 'Don't Stop The Dance' got going, they all walked onto the dancefloor, giggling and laughing like a bunch of teenagers as they swung to the beat.

Several males then joined them, trying to split them up and they each obliged them, smiling and dancing along, but as soon as the music stopped, politely thanked them before turning their backs, their would-be suitors skulking miserably away to scout for further targets.

When Stuart, Jeremy and their friends arrived at midnight, Jeremy was pleased, not only to see Harry dancing away, but accompanied by a male.

He assumed it was a signal she was fair game.

As he watched her move to the rhthym, he became aroused at the sexuality of her body, the way she gyrated her hips and imagined her writhing with pleasure under his body in bed.

He walked onto the dancefloor and made a beeline for her, tapping the guy she was dancing with on the shoulder and flicking his head at him to leave them.

Harry just glared at him and made to walk away, at which point he gripped her arm and pulled her to him, placing his mouth close to her ear.

"Come on darling, dance with me!" he part ordered, part shouted over the loud music.

"Let go of me!" she shouted back, trying to break away. "And I'm _not _your darling!".

"Aw don't be like that, darling." he yelled. "The night is yet young. We can have some fun somewhere."

She stopped trying to wriggle free of him and levelled one of her ice cold stares at him.

"Whoohoo, you're a fiery lady! Love it! Can't wait to get you into a bed!" he grinned back, the grin suddenly vanishing as his face contorted in excruciating pain when Harry's knee connected with his groin.

As he doubled up in agony, she thought about a follow up rabbit punch to his neck, but Angela was hauling her away before she could throw it, the rest of the girls surrounding them both as they headed for their corner of the bar.

"Bloody hell Harry!" said Angela. "It comes to something when we can't go for a simple night out together without being hounded by a bunch of braindead morons! You okay?"

"Yes I'm fine." replied Harry, taking her glass of Perrier and a sizeable sip from it. "I suppose we should have known. We've been here enough times."

"Yes I know we have." agreed Angela. "But we've always had the boys here with us."

"True. Who the hell was that idiot, anyway?" she asked.

"Don't know." replied Angela, refilling her glass of champagne. "But he was in Romano's earlier with that other cretin. Stuart was it?"

"Oh him. Probably a friend of Roberts too then." said Harry. "They all thought they were God's gift!"

"I need the ladies. Coming?" asked Angela.

"Yes I could do with a freshen up." replied Harry, taking her arm as they strolled towards the rear of the club where the toilets were located.

Unseen by both of them, Robert watched as they disappeared, then followed. He'd arrived with his new girlfriend a few minutes earlier and had witnessed his friend Jeremy's demise at the hands of Harry. Telling his girlfriend he needed the 'Gents', he'd left her sitting at a table and was now outside the ladies.

Stepping inside, he saw Harry staring into a mirror as she replenished her lipstick, Angela busy in a cubicle.

She froze solid when she saw him, unable to believe her eyes. Of all people in of all places - the ladies toilet in Stringfellows!

"Wh..What the hell do you want?" she said, falteringly." For Gods sake Robert what on earth are you doing in here!?"

"To teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" he snarled, swinging her round to face him, before punching her in the stomach three times.

She collapsed to the floor, an acute pain coursing through her middle.

"That'll teach you to make a fool of me, you stuck up little bitch!" he scowled, as he marched to the door, before turning round and looking down at her, doubled up on the ground. "I hope you lose that half Yank, half snooty Brit kid of yours!"

As he disappeared out through the door, Angela threw hers open and rushed to Harry, who was still sitting on the floor, groaning and holding her stomach.

"Harry for God's sake what's happened!? Was that Robert's voice I heard just now!? What's he done!?"

Harry looked at her, tears now coursing down her cheeks, pain clear on her face. "He's hit me in the stom...stomach!"

"Oh Christ! The bastard! The bloody bastard!" screamed Angela, beside herself with fury and worry. "Hold on. I'll get an ambulance. Just stay still, I'll be right back!"

An ambulance arrived swiftly and rushed Harry to hospital, Angela accompanying her, holding her hand, comforting her all the way. The girls followed behind in a cab.

Meanwhile Dempsey had left Ollie's when a distraught Angela called to break the news to them. Ollie immediately tried to reach Dempsey at home, but the 'phone just rang out, Harry having forgotten to switch it to record messages.

"He ought to have arrived home by now." he said to the others, a puzzled expression clear on his face. "I think we'd better get over there. He might be asleep. He's put away a fair amount of whisky tonight."

In fact Dempsey wasn't actually asleep.

He was unconscious.

Arriving home by taxi, somewhat unsteady on his feet, he'd paid the cabbie and was walking up the gravelled drive to the front door, when three men, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, attacked him.

With two pinning his arms, the third set about him with a baseball bat, breaking his nose and cheekbone. The rest of the assault concentrated on a sensitive, most painful and particularly intimate part of his body.

When the others arrived they found him slumped on the drive, his face a mess and his breathing unsteady.


	10. Chapter 10

**Safely fly the stork.**

**10.**

At the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, just three miles from Covent Garden, Harry was undergoing tests.

She was constantly fighting back tears, her face already streaked with mascara, her eyes red and wide with fear. Angela hadn't left her side, Arabella, Joyce and Belinda pacing the waiting room constantly, all of them nervous for news.

Arabella was muttering out loud what they were all thinking, as she walked around in circles.

"Please let her be fine, please let the baby be safe, please let her be fine, please let the baby be safe."

At Guy's Hospital in SE1, Dempsey was semi-conscious, sedated but in agony, the painkillers yet to kick in. Although his broken nose had been reset immediately and bandaged up, his broken cheekbone required more detailed attention.

First of all, it had been X-rayed in order to identify the site of the fracture, followed by a CT scan to establish the exact delineation of the fracture site and to assess any other injury to the facial skin or tissues.

Initial treatment involved the control of bleeding and stabilization, but no displacement of the fractured bone was found, so no surgery was required. Further scans revealed two broken ribs and severe bruising to his stomach and abdomen following the concentration by his attackers on those sensitive areas of his body.

No-one had yet told him what had happened to Harry.

At the Chelsea and Westminster, doctors had finished their examination of her.

"Well Lady Harriet, I'm happy to tell you all is fine with your baby." said Doctor Webber. "The fact you're only in your eighth week has meant the foetus is very tiny and heavily protected by the amniotic sac in your uterus. Remember, that is where your baby is situated, your uterus, not your stomach."

Harry broke down and wept with relief, Angela too, hugging her closely, the pair of them rocking in each others arms, tears flowing freely and unashamedly.

Doctor Webber waited patiently for them to gather themselves together.

"How did this occur, Lady Harriet?" he asked eventually, as the girls dabbed their eyes with tissue and blew their noses. "Did you fall?"

"It...it was an accident doctor." replied Harry, in no way prepared to explain the real reason and adding gratefully. "Thank you so much for all you've done. I can't tell you what it means to know my baby is unharmed."

"Oh I think I can guess." he smiled, hiding his suspicion that this wasn't the result of a mere accident. "Now you must take things easy for a while. Your stomach is bruised and requires rest. Is your husband here?"

"Oh I've no idea." replied Harry, looking questioningly at Angela. "Did you manage to get a message to him?"

"I got a call through to Ollie." said Angela. "I presume he's told James."

"If James had known Angela, he'd be right here with me!" replied Harry, a sudden flash of danger lighting up her mind. "He's in trouble! He's in trouble! Angela. I know it! Where is he!?"

"Oh Harry, I don't know!" said Angela, alarmed at Harry's certainty that all was not well with Dempsey. "Wait a sec, let me go to reception and see if a message has been left."

"Surely they'd have found me if there was." replied Harry, her eyes wide with worry.

"Maybe darling, but it's Friday night and A&E is so busy." said Angela. "Keep calm for a mo. Let me see if I can find anything out. Why don't you join the others, they're in the waiting room and probably beside themselves with worry about you."

Harry felt dazed with shock as she allowed a nurse to escort her to the waiting room, the girls rushing to her side when she was led in, thanking the nurse and taking over.

While Harry gave them the good news about her, she broke down again when mentioning where Angela had gone, more certain than ever now that Dempsey was injured, her unique telepathic connection to him as strong as ever.

For his part, although drugged and semi-conscious, he had visions flying round his mind of Harry being hurt too, and kept mumbling her name over and over again.

Ollie explained to the doctor what had happened to Harry and wanted advice as to whether Dempsey should be told.

"No, not right now, Mr Murray." he replied. "Have you any idea as to his wife's latest condition?"

"No I don't." said Ollie. "But I do know where she is. The Chelsea and Westminster, my fiance called me from there earlier. She's with her."

"Wait here." said the doctor. "I'll see if I can find out the latest. Stay with your friend. I won't be long."

A few minutes later he was back, a smile on his lips.

"She's okay, Mr Murray." he said. "I understand she sustained injury to her stomach? And she's pregnant?"

"Yes doc." replied Ollie. "Is she okay? I mean she's not miscarried or anything?"

"Yes she's fine, as I've said, and so is the baby." he replied. "A message is being sent to her as we speak. I suggest you say nothing to Mr Dempsey just now. I'm sure she'll be here very soon and we'll leave it up her as to how much she wants to tell him, given his present condition."

"Yes, thank you, doc." said Ollie and went to find Rupert, Roger and Hugo, all three hanging about nervously awaiting news on both Dempsey and Harry.

"Oh thank God, Harry's okay." said Roger, her cousin. "We know it was that bastard Makepeace who punched her, but do you reckon he was behind James's beating?"

"What do you think!" replied Rupert, his eyebrows raised knowingly. "Who else could it have been?"

"Well he _is_ a police detective, Rupert." reminded Roger, forever pragmatic. "How do we know it wasn't some group of villians with a score to settle."

"A possibility, I grant you." said Rupert. "But too coincidental for my liking. It was less than a week ago, remember, when he confronted Harry and James and was sent packing with a punch on the nose and an uppercut. No, this is revenge. And heaven bloody help him when James gets to find out!"

"Perhaps we should stick by his side when he's up and about again." suggested Hugo. "There's no telling what he'll do to Robert Makepeace when he finds him. Copper or no copper, the love of his life has been blatantly attacked and his unborn child put in danger of it's life! Any man would be blind with rage, caution as to the consequences not even a consideration."

"I think you're right, Hugo." said Rupert. "I doubt we can all be with him, at the same time, all of the time, but at least one of us should be."

"I suspect his work colleagues will be on hand too." said Roger. "By all accounts they're a tight knit bunch and James is highly respected. Harry's working for the boss now too, so I wouldn't put it past any of them to seek Makepeace out."

"By God! Little does he know what a hornets nest he's stirred up!" remarked Hugo, the others nodding and unable to hide a certain feeling of satisfaction when Robert is eventually made to pay for his vicious reprisals.

When the girls arrived, their shocked faces at the news that Dempsey had been badly beaten up, were plain to see, all of them, including Harry, in no doubt Robert was behind it.

They left her to sit at Dempsey's side, his hand gripped tightly in hers, her other hand wiping away the tears that refused to stop running down her face.

"Darling, I'm here now. I'm not leaving you for one moment." she whispered, her face close to his, her hand, shakingly, lightly carressing his injured face. "I love you so much. You're going to be okay, I promise."

He grunted, his eyes closed, his eyelids twitching in deep sleep, but she knew he'd heard her.

Angela appeared by her side.

"How is he Harry?" she asked, placing her arm gently around her shoulder. "Had I better call Freddy and Glo."

"Yes I think you should." agreed Harry. "My God, Daddy's going to be seething when he hears Robert's behind all this."

"He's not alone. The boys are too." said Angela. "And they're worried what James might do when he's back to full fitness. Roger reckons all the guys at his work are going to want to get involved too."

'I'm damn certain they will be' thought Harry, but said. "Yes, they like James a lot."

"Harry, don't you think you should slip home and freshen up." suggested Angela. "You'll feel a lot better."

"I'm not leaving him, Angela." replied Harry, adamant. "I'll give you my keys. Perhaps you can get a change of clothes, anything will do. You find some soft bags in one of my warddrobes. Just shove what you think I'll need in one of them, would you? I can use the bathrooms here to change and wash."

"Okay darling. Consider it done." said Angela. "I'll call Freddy from your place too. Are you sure it's not too late? I mean it is nearly three am!"

"Thanks Angela. No, he'll want to know. Oh, and he's at the house in London, not Winfield." remembered Harry. "Just push button 2 on the 'phone and it'll dial automatically."

"Oooh, get you, Mrs Mod Cons." chuckled Angela, at least bringing a weak smile to Harry's lips.

After she'd gone, a doctor popped by, white haired and in his early sixties.

"How long do you think it will be before he's better doctor?" asked Harry.

"I'd say the injuries to his face will take about six to eight weeks to heal." he replied. "It seems the attack was aimed at his stomach and lower body. I'd guess his face was hit just the once with an iron bar or baseball bat, but not too forcefully as luck would have it. Had they concentrated on it instead, then we probably would have had to operate, because his face would have been seriously disfigured and his cheekbone lifted back into place. Even then, he may have had to live with a lopsided look for the rest of his life. But his abdomen and testicles have taken quite a beating I'm afraid. Only time will tell if he's fully functioning in that area again."

Harry was stunned at this, tears once again rushing in. She swallowed them down and quickly wiped her eyes.

"Um, do men usually recover from that kind of attack to their private parts?" she asked, a little embarrassed, but nevertheless needing an answer.

"Despite their sensitivity, nature has made them pretty robust, my dear." replied the doctor. "I would say, given time, more often than not, men do recover."

"Will we be able to have more children then?" asked Harry, mentally closing her eyes as she awaited his answer.

"You mean will your husband be impotent?" said the doctor.

'Dear God, it's the same bloody question man!' she thought, her nerves close to breaking point.

"The odds are in his favour." said the doctor. "You must excuse me, other patients await my attention. Don't worry too much, my dear, I'm sure things will be fine."

After he'd gone her tears were released. As they tumbled down her face, she thought back to two weeks ago, when she'd worried that her desire for Dempsey might be affected by her developing pregnancy and their love life, suffering because of it, would affect their overall relationship.

Now, she knew, no matter what, it didn't matter in the scheme of things. She'd always love him, sex or no sex. It formed part of the glue that bonded them, an important part, but not to the demise of her wonderful marriage. She was wiping yet more tears away when Joyce joined her.

"Oh Harry, I hate to see you so upset." she said, and like Angela, hugging her. "He'll be fine, I'm certain. What has the doctor said? I saw he was in here, so I waited until he'd gone."

"That he may never recover from the beating he's taken to his...his, you know, down there." she replied, pointing to her own groin.

"Harry, don't forget I've been around agents who have been badly tortured during interrogation." said Joyce. "One of the areas the questioners concentrate on are the testicles, because they are so painful if squeezed or beaten. But those men have recovered and gone on to have proper sex lives and father children. You know what these doctors are like. They'll always hedge their bets for fear of retribution later or possible litigation."

"The doctor didn't actually say he wouldn't recover, just that it was highly likely."

"There you are then." replied Joyce. "Okay, he's fallen short of saying outright that James will be okay, but he's come pretty close. Take heart from that. Come on, you're an optimist, always have been."

"Yes I am, Joyce." smiled Harry. "But I'm not leaving his side. Daddy will be here soon. I'm certain he'll arrange for James to be moved to a private hospital. The best care money can buy."

She was right.

As soon as Freddy had learned of Dempsey's attack and hospitalization, he'd immediately decided to arrange for him to be moved to 'The London Bridge Hospital', renowned worldwide for outstanding care, first thing the following morning.

Then he'd woken Gloria and Alice and broken the news to them.

Gloria took it, outwardly, in her stride, a tough life in the Bronx had hardened her to difficult news, but inwardly she was weeping. Alice of course, always her heart worn openly on her sleeve, didn't stop crying all the way to the hospital in the back of Freddy's Rolls Royce.

Goodness only knew how they'd all react to the news of Harry's attack once she'd admitted it to them.

Angela, however, managed to reach her before they did and joined Joyce at Dempsey's bedside with two soft bags, full of everything Harry would need for her sustained vigil beside him.

"Harry, I've spoken to Freddy. He's on his way, no doubt Glo and Aunt Alice too." she said. "But I've said nothing about your attack. I thought it best not to at the moment, seeing as you're okay. Did I do the right thing?"

"Yes Ange, you did." replied Harry. "I'll tell them when I think the time is right. And thanks for all the bags. Listen, why don't you all get off home. It's so late. I'll be fine here."

"Are you sure?" asked Angela, kissing her cheek, yet reluctant to leave her friend.

"Yes, I'm sure." replied Harry, returning the kiss.

"Okay, be over first thing." said Angela.

"No, wait for me to call." said Harry. "If Freddy's going to arrange James's move, it'll happen pretty damn quick. You know what he's like. The private room will have a telephone, I'll call you all from it once we're settled, okay?"

"Okay." agreed Angela.

Not long after they'd all popped in and kissed her goodbye, Freddy arrived, immediately hugging her close as Gloria took her seat and sat at Dempsey's side taking hold of his hand.

Alice sat the opposite side of the bed with his other hand in hers, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"How did this happen, darling?" asked Freddy, distress clear in his blue eyes as he looked at Dempsey.

Harry hesitated and took his hand, leading him out into the corridor, not wanting to be overheard by Gloria or Alice.

"Robert's behind it." she said, looking directly into his eyes and seeing them cloud over with anger.

"Robert! Why!?"

Harry swallowed hard, determined she'd get through the explanation without breaking down.

"He was at Angela and Ollie's engagement party we went to last weekend." she explained. "He was dating an ex flame of Ollie's, who was invited, but they had no idea she was with Robert. He got nasty with me and James socked him a couple of times. He, no doubt, felt humiliated and decided to get his revenge. I've no idea how many attacked him but they've..."

She had to stop for a moment, her throat contracting, tears threatening. He gave her time to gather herself together, waiting patiently.

"Go on darling. Take your time, there's no rush."

"They concentrated on his ... his."

"Ok I know." said Freddy, immediately aware of the nature of the attack. "Any idea as to why?"

"Robert knows I'm pregnant." replied Harry. "I can only think he wanted to try and make sure James couldn't father any more babies."

She couldn't help herself then, breaking down in floods of tears again, Freddy hugging her to him, quietly scowling.

"Darling, you know if he feels that strongly he could come after _you_." he warned. "I mean, he may attack you and try and cause a miscarriage."

Her sobs increased, her body shaking with them, Freddy suddenly going cold as the realization rushed in and hit him.

"He already has, hasn't he!" he growled, trying hard to remain calm. "When!?"

"Las...last ni..night!" sobbed Harry. "He foll...followed me me into the lad..ladies at String...Stringfellows and pun...punched me in my stom..stomach thr..three times."

Freddy was shaking now, his anger almost uncontrollable. He began breathing deeply, slowly, calming down, then spoke.

"You've been checked over?" he asked finally, feeling her nodding furiously as she clung to him.

"Ye...Yes." she stammered, finally. "Scrum...Scrumpy's fi...fine."

"Thank God!" replied Freddy, quietly. "Alright Harry, the main thing is you're safe and James isn't so badly hurt he won't recover. He'll be fully fit in every area, trust me. Now, I think you should come home with us and get some rest. I'm going to arrange for him to be moved to The London Bridge Hospital. It's one of the best."

"Thank you, Daddy." said Harry. "But I'm staying here. Angela's brought me everything I need from home. You go now, there's nothing you can do. I'll be perfectly fine."

"If you're sure." he said.

"I'm sure." replied Harry as they returned to Dempsey's bedside.

"Why is Jimmy here?" asked Gloria, trying hard not to let her emotions get the better of her.

"I'll explain tomorrow, Glo." said Freddy. "Harry is staying here. We'll see them both tomorrow. Come on, now."

After she'd kissed Dempsey tenderly on his cheek, followed by Alice, Freddy escorted them back to the car, silence reigning.

Harry kissed Dempsey, settled back in the large armchair next to his bed and fell into a fitful sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Safely fly the stork.**

**11.**

When Spikings learned what had happened to Dempsey and Harry, courtesy of Joyce the following morning, he immediately arranged for their compassionate leave and visited Guy's Hospital to see them both.

However, he was too late.

Dempsey had already been moved to a private room at The London Bridge Hospital, Freddy having arranged it first thing that morning and, as was customary, had it actioned immediately!

Harry had only dozed for around two hours before the move took place and was now in the en-suite bathroom freshening up when Spikings arrived. She didn't hear him enter the room, so got a mild shock when she opened the bathroom door and saw him sitting beside Dempsey's bed.

"Oh! Good morning, sir." she said. "How did you know where to find us?"

"Good morning, Harry." smiled Spikings, a playful twinkle in his eye. "I'm a detective, didn't you know?"

Harry laughed and sat down opposite him, taking Dempsey's hand in hers and gently stroking it. He was still heavily sedated, but she was sure she felt him respond.

"Joyce has filled me in with the bare details." said Spikings. "I'm very sorry to hear of the attack on you, Harry. I understand you and the baby are unharmed though."

"Yes sir, thanks." she replied, smiling at him. "Apart from a bruised tummy, I'm okay. Not like James here. He's taken a hell of a beating."

"Yes I can see that." said Spikings, unable to mask his concern for Dempsey, who, despite their often brittle relationship, he held in high regard. "You're both on compassionate leave, by the way, so take as much time as you need."

"Thank you." replied Harry. "Erm, do the boys back at base know what's happened?"

"No, I've not seen them to tell them yet." he said. "Joyce was on the 'phone to me first thing, so I came straight out and tracked you down here. So what is the damage?"

She explained exactly what had happened to Dempsey, together with who she was convinced was behind the attack and why.

"Robert Makepeace has done this?" said Spikings, clearly surprised. "I thought he'd been out of your life for years now."

"He had been sir." she replied and went on to relate their confrontation at Angela and Ollie's engagement party.

"So just because Dempsey belted him a couple of times, he's embarked on a crusade to cause you to miscarry and, not satisfied with that, has attempted to make him impotent? Dear me, the man's deranged!"

Dempsey grunted in his sleep, Harry convinced he could hear the conversation, especially when she felt his hand squeeze hers. It was the revelation as to what Robert had done to her, that had illicited this response from him and she knew it.

"I think Mr Makepeace is due a visit from us, don't you." growled Spikings. "Now, how long will it be before Dempsey can talk?"

"The bruising and swelling usually takes two to three weeks to settle down, sir." replied Harry. "After that time his facial injuries will continue to heal themselves. Luckily, because it looks as though he was hit only once, his cheekbone isn't badly fractured but unfortunately, he will need to be patient while it gets better."

"Mmm, not one of Dempsey's better traits!" remarked Spikings. "Presumably, in the meantime, you're camped out in here."

"I'm not leaving his side, sir." she said, her eyes steel blue and determined.

"No, quite understand, Harry." said Spikings, smiling at her. "Well, I'll get off now. No doubt you'll have a trail of visitors, I expect the lads will be anxious to see you both. Is that a problem or would you rather be left alone for a week or so."

"I'd prefer if they could leave it for a while, sir." replied Harry. "No disrespect, but while James can't talk, it'd be better to leave him in peace. He'll enjoy visitors a lot more when he's fully on the mend."

"I agree with you." he said, nodding and getting up from his chair. "Well, I'm sure they'll all want to send their regards so I'll say it for them now. Keep in touch, won't you."

"Yes, of course sir. And thanks." replied Harry as she watched him exit the room.

A few days later, he called to say they'd discovered Robert had gone abroad to Europe, supposedly indefinitely, and taken his car with him. Interpol last recorded him as being in Germany, but he wasn't staying in one place for long, generally moving on quite quickly.

Spikings felt that there would come a day when Robert would try and sneak back into the UK and when he did, he'd be waiting for him.

Over the course of the following weeks, bouquets of flowers steadily arrived for Dempsey and Harry, together with magazines on babies and pregnancy sent by the girls.

The SI-10 lads had sent a package full of magazines too, many of which were motoring ones, but the odd copy of 'Penthouse' and 'Playboy' found their way in amongst them.

Harry had allowed only Freddy, Glo, Alice and Angela in to visit in that time, but by the sixteenth week of her pregnancy, Dempsey's face had healed and he was able to talk, although Harry had avoided discussing the events of the night in Stringfellows or his attack.

Amazingly, to some degree, despite the trauma she'd suffered, her sex drive was as powerful as ever, but she had regularly kept it under wraps.

Wondering if there might be something wrong with her, she'd read though some of the magazines and discovered to her relief, that what she was feeling was perfectly normal.

Her morning sickness had ceased, although her emotions were still somewhat volatile and her hormonal condition occasionally gave rise to downright exhaustion, not helped by the fact she hadn't slept in a bed for weeks.

Although offered one close by, she had declined, knowing she'd only lie awake wishing she was next to Dempsey anyway.

She had just emerged from the bathroom, when she noticed him staring at a copy of Playboy, his hand under the bedsheet. Seeing as he swiftly withdrew it the instant he saw her, brought a smile to her face.

Needless to say, any fears she, or he, may have had, regarding the potential damage to his genitals from the beating, were dispelled that morning.

Squeezed up next to him in the single bed a little later, she chuckled.

"What's funny?" he asked, kissing the top of her head as she rested it under his chin.

"Anybody could have walked in on us." she giggled again. "There isn't a lock on the door. That would have been a touch embarrassing, don't you think?"

"Guess so, angel." he replied, chuckling himself. "But they didn't."

"Hmmm, perhaps in future we'll wait until it's all quiet at night." she whispered, lifting her head up and managing to kiss his lips. "The doctors weren't sure you'd be okay down there, you know."

"Proved 'em wrong then, huh?" he replied, smiling.

"Didn't you just!" she giggled again. "I could go again, but I think that would be tempting fate a little bit, wouldn't it."

"Jus' a bit! I jus' wanna get outta here though." he said. "Wonder if I should discharge myself."

"No, wait until the doctors say so, darling." she replied. "More than anything I want to get you home, even if its just to be able to sleep in a bed with you next me again."

"Aw honey, ya mus' be tired out." he said, his heart lifting at her concern, love and loyalty to and for him these past few weeks. "I dunno how ya done it."

"I wanted to be here." she said. "Anyway I am going to have to pop out. I have an appointment at the anti-natal clinic in a couple of hours."

"What's gonna happen there?" he asked.

"They'll just check my blood pressure and do a urine and blood test." she replied. "Shouldn't be a problem and I'll be back before you know it."

"Okay honey." he said, before turning serious. "And then we're gonna get rid of that elephant in the room."

She saw no reason to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about, the discussion as to what had happened to both of them, long overdue.

"Yes, alright, darling." she replied. "Now, I'd better make myself presentable."

She slipped out of bed and, grabbing a soft bag, disappeared into the bathroom, emerging forty minutes later, looking as beautiful as ever, then, kissing him goodbye, left for her appointment.

After around fifteen minutes, Angela and Ollie knocked on the door and walked in.

"Hey soldier." she said, grinning. "You're looking good. Where's Harry?"

"Gone to the clinic. Routine check up. Ya jus' missed her." replied Dempsey. "How you two doin' anyway?"

"We're great thanks." replied Angela. "You can't be far from being able to go home."

"Yeah, I wanna discharge myself, but Harry's playin' it by the book." he said, grinning. "Wants the doc ta rubber stamp it."

"Won't be long, chum." said Ollie, noticing the copy of Playboy by his bed and picking it up. "Hey, not skimmed through one of these for ages."

Angela tut tutted as she got up.

"Mind if I use the bathroom, James?" she asked.

"Nah, be my guest, babe." he replied.

"Erm, how are things with your, you know..." asked Ollie, replacing the magazine after she'd closed the bathroom door.

"Yeah pal, workin' fine." grinned Dempsey.

"How do you know?" asked Ollie, then looked at the girlie mags. "Oh yeah, I get you."

"Nah, give me a break!" replied Dempsey. "Don' need them rags."

"What? You and Harry...?" asked Ollie, glancing round to make sure Angela wasn't about to hear them. "In here?"

"Uh-huh." nodded Dempsey, unable to keep the smile off his face.

Ollie grinned back and they high five'd each other, Angela catching them as she came out of the bathroom.

"What are you two grinning and slapping about?" she asked.

"Boy's stuff." replied Dempsey, shooting a warning glance in Ollie's direction, he nodding almost imperceptively.

"Hmmm, was it, now." replied Angela, suspiciously. "Anyway James, you'll soon be home then. Bet you can't wait."

"No I can't, I'm itchin' ta get outta here." he replied.

"I should think Harry is too, isn't she?" asked Angela. "She's never left your side, you know."

"I know she ain't." agreed Dempsey. "She's one in a zillion. An' that Makepeace creep ain't gonna find nowhere to hide, once I get goin'."

"You know what he did then." said Ollie.

"Yeah I know." growled Dempsey. "Harry 'n I gonna talk 'bout it when she gets back. It's 'bout time we did."

"She went to hell and back that night, James." said Angela. "I know, I was with her from the start."

"Hey, I ain't plannin' on givin' her a hard time, Ange." he replied. "No frickin' way! An' I can guess how much support you an' the girls gave her, but especially you. An', ya know, I gotta thank ya for that."

"She'd have done the same for me." smiled Angela. "And we all love her to bits."

They stayed chatting for a while longer, passed on the love and regards from the rest of their group and left, Dempsey drifting off to sleep soon after they'd gone.

When Harry arrived back, she just stood by his bed for a moment and looked down on him, her heart so full of love and relief, it felt fit to burst.

Lowering her mouth to his lips, she kissed him tenderly, his soft, brown, eyes opening and looking into her ocean blues, so blue they never failed to captivate him.

"Ollie and Angela dropped by, honey." he said, as she sat down next to him and took his hand in hers.

"They okay?" she asked, gently stroking it.

"Yeah fine." he replied. "So come on angel, what exactly happened in Stringfellows?"

She cleared her throat and related, in detail, the events of that fateful night, Dempsey's facial expression becoming darker and darker the more she revealed. When she'd finally finished she could see he was close to exploding, his eyes now hard, unforgiving and swimming with unmistakable fury.

She allowed time for him to get control of himself, he finally asking, in a tone of voice she'd never heard before, low, growly, malevolent.

"Where is he? I know Spikings is on his case. I heard you two talkin' a while back."

"I thought you did." she replied, recalling it. "You squeezed my hand, even though you were sedated."

"Yeah. I couldn't speak, but I could hear." he said. "So, where is he?"

"The last thing we know, he'd driven abroad. Interpol have been tracking him." replied Harry. "We'll know if and when he returns and I think it'll be more when, than if."

"He'll wish he'd never been born." he murmured, his eyes having glazed over, his imagination vivid.

"So, what happened with you?" said Harry, wanting to bring him back to he present.

"Huh?" he said, eventually focusing on her again. "Oh yeah, me. Er, can't remember much. I got outta the cab, bit drunk, paid the driver an' next thing, three guys jumped me. Came outta nowhere. I recall somethin' hard hittin' me in the face, my nose breakin' an' I passed out. Then I was in here."

"So when you were unconscious on the ground, that's when they kept beating you between the legs."

"Guess so, honey." he said. "S'pose I gotta thank my lucky stars they didn't haul me away an' keep me conscious while they were doin' it. Painful enough after the event, leave alone during it!"

"Oh James." she said, tears having welled up in her eyes. "It doesn't bear thinking about. You could have been ruined for life. Just think what we'd be facing if Robert had achieved what he'd set out to do. No Scrumpy and no more babies."

"An' more besides." he said, the meaning clear on his face. "But we put that ta rest, didn't we, huh?"

"Mmm and I can't wait for the re-runs." she giggled, wiping some tears from her eyes at the same time.

"Yeah me neither." he replied. "But it ain't a pretty sight down there, honey. I'm kinda still a bit black an' blue an purple."

"I don't need to look, darling, just touch." she whispered, her lips on his.

He groaned.

Just then the door opened and a doctor walked in, smiling.

"Good afternoon, Mr Dempsey, Lady Harriet." he said. "How are you feeling, Mr Dempsey?"

"When can I get outta here?" he replied, bluntly, in no mood to pull any punches.

"I'd like to look you over and then I'll tell you." said the doctor, as Harry stepped aside to allow him free range.

As he pulled back the sheet to examine Dempsey, she stifled a gasp as his lower half came into view. He hadn't been joking when he'd described himself as black, blue and purple and she fought back tears at the thought of how Robert's cohorts had tried to inflict so much damage on him, with the express intention of rendering him impotent.

But she also marveled, secretly, at how he'd responded to her and their wonderful, successful love making earlier that morning. Her impending tears of horror, turned to those of joy.

"Mmm, good." said the doctor upon completing his examination. "The swelling has gone now and the bruising will soon disappear. I'd say you were good to go, Mr Dempsey. I'll arrange for your discharge."

"Thanks doc, that's great." smiled Dempsey, winking at Harry.

"And how are you Lady Harriet?" he asked, glancing over at her. "Everything alright with your pregnancy?"

"Yes thank you, doctor." she replied, smiling. "All is as it should be."

"Good." he said, looking from one to the other. "I'm sure you'll have a little brother or sister for your unborn child in the future."

As Harry was helping Dempsey dress and pack up their bags, Freddy appeared.

"Hello both." he smiled. "Looks as though I've arrived just in time. The doctor has told me he's arranging your discharge, James."

"Yeah, at last!" he replied. "They've been great here, Freddy. I have ta thank you for gettin' me in so damn quick. No disrespect to the NHS, but I guess I may not have recovered quite so fast. One to one nursin' sure made the difference."

"Don't mention it." he replied, hugging Harry. "No you listen to me. I want no arguments, but you're coming back with me to convalesce, both of you. Just for a week or so."

"Daddy that's wonderful of you but..."

"Harry! I said no arguments!" said Freddy, the look on his face brooking no further rejection. "Glo and Alice, not to mention myself and Abbott, will be on hand to oversee your full recovery. So come on, the car's outside, parked illegally, so we'd better get a shift on."

Smiling and chuckling, they gathered their things, collected Dempsey's discharge papers and followed Freddy out to his Rolls Royce, both climbing into the back.

Freddy, joining in the fun, popped Abbott's chauffeurs cap on as he started the car.

"Where to me lady?" he laughed.

"Home Winfield." replied Harry, snuggling up next to Dempsey. "Home. At last!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Safely fly the stork.**

**12.**

Over the course of the next six weeks, Harry's body began to change, her breasts becoming larger, her tummy showing distinct signs of her growing baby, both of which as a result, left her feeling a little unsteady on her feet as her centre of gravity shifted.

Whether Scrumpy was a boy or a girl, he or she was certainly becoming very active too, performing, what felt like, his or her own baby Olympics!

Harry and Gloria were becoming closer as each day passed and she was conscious that Aunt Alice might feel left out, so ensured she was party to all the discussions going on about her pregnancy.

One area she avoided talking about was her sex life with Dempsey, preferring to isolate those discussions with her doctor, this time a lady, as her own doctor was away on an emergency call at the last minute when she arrived for her appointment.

"I'm still feeling incredibly sexy." she said, after her examination was finished. "I have expected my physical desires to have lessened as my pregnancy developed, but that hasn't happened."

"Then rejoice, Lady Harriet." replied the doctor, smiling broadly. "Pregnant women typically fall into two camps: Those whose desires are stronger than ever, as in your case, or those whose idea of a perfect evening is a peaceful night's sleep - solo."

"Gosh doctor, I certainly don't feel like the second one!" said Harry.

"You're in group A, Lady Harriet." said the doctor. "You can thank the rising levels of estrogen and progesterone, which are helping to boost your desire for nonstop lovemaking. Those sex hormones are responsible for increasing the amount of blood flow to the pelvic area and the amount of lubrication you produce - both important ingredients for a satisfying experience. They also cause more sensitive breasts, so your foreplay may seem more fiery, and their expanding size can make you feel more attractive. I'd hazard a guess too, that your desire for your husband has always remained strong?"

"You could say that!" chuckled Harry, her eyes sparkling, forever conscious that she'd only have to taste his lips, or feel his touch and she was on fire!

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" asked the doctor. "For example, some women experience dental problems at this point in their pregnancies, such as bleeding gums or increased sensitivity – are you? Or, have you suddenly got cravings for different food?"

"No, doctor, my teeth aren't giving my any problems but I have grown fond of a corn flake sandwich."

"My goodness, I've not come across that one before." chuckled the doctor. "But at least you're getting plenty of fibre and carbohydrates! Anything else? Leg cramps, back ache or swollen ankles and feet?"

"I occasionaly suffer from leg cramps, yes, and my back is beginning to ache more, but my ankles and feet show no signs of swelling." replied Harry.

"Good, you are in excellent overall health, Lady Harriet." replied the doctor. "I presume you'll be getting a nursery ready soon."

"My husband and I are living with my father at the moment." said Harry. "But we'll be returning home soon and then we'll set about a nursery. Should be fun, although deciding upon the colours could present a problem seeing as we've no idea as to the sex of our baby."

"Do you want to undergo an ultrasound?" asked the doctor. "That will establish your baby's sex once and for all."

"No thank you, doctor." replied Harry, shaking her head and smiling. "We'd rather wait. It may make deciding upon nursery colours difficult, but we find the 'not knowing' exciting."

"And baby's names too, I presume." remarked the doctor. "Have you started making lists?"

"No, not yet." replied Harry, smiling still. "Although I expect we might soon."

For Dempsey's part, his recovery gathered pace as the weeks went by.

Whereas at first, having been discharged from hospital, he found it painful and difficult to walk, even sit, the only comfortable position was when he was lying on his back. But by Harry's twenty-fourth week, most of his bruising had disappeared and getting around naturally, soon became the norm again.

Nevertheless, during that period, Harry had to be very gentle when making love to him!

One evening their six friends came over for dinner, during which the girls, in the main, talked babies, interspersed with marriage, relationships, the latest fashion and general gossip.

Freddy and the boys disappeared into the snooker room afterwards and set up their own friendly tournament, whilst enjoying the finest cognac and occasional cigar to help it along.

In a quiet moment, Angela wanted to know all about Harry's sex life.

"Must've been difficult." she said, softly. "You know, what with James's injuries."

"Non existent to start with Angela, as you can guess." whispered Harry. "But as soon as James was able we started making up for it."

"Where? Here, I presume?" asked Angela, looking round to check no-one was eavesdropping.

"Not quite, no." murmured Harry, a gleam in her eye.

"You don't mean you actually did it in his hospital room!" whispered Angela, her eyed wide with mischief."

"Mmmm." nodded Harry, giggling at the look on Angela's face. "There wasn't a lock on the door, either."

"Harry, you minx!" whispered Angela again, giggling too. "So that's what they were high fiving each other about."

"Who?" asked Harry, puzzled.

"Ollie and James." replied Angela. "We popped in to see you both, but you'd gone to your anti-natal appointment. I went to the bathroom and when I came out, the boys were grinning at each other and also very secretive about something. I think James must have told Ollie what you'd done."

"I can't blame him, Ange." replied Harry, smiling. "It must have come as more than a relief to him than to me, and I was worried enough!"

"Was he badly bruised?" asked Angela.

"Well, when we made love, I didn't look." replied Harry, quietly. "I mean, it had been so long, we just went at like a couple of rampant rabbits. But I did see when the doctor came to examine him just before he discharged him. And it was awful, Angela. Had it not been for painkillers, he would have been in so much agony it doesn't bear thinking about. He could hardly walk or sit when we first got here."

"How is he now?" asked Angela.

"Let's just say I'm being very careful." replied Harry, smiling. "Other than that, we're back to normal."

"So everything is as delicious as it should be then!" chortled Angela. "I'd have thought, though Harry, that you might be going off sex now. Doesn't that happen as your pregnancy marches on?"

"Not necessarily no. My doctor tells me I'm perfectly normal." replied Harry, still grinning. "And who am I to argue with that!"

"No, too right, Harry." said Angela, grinning back at her. "You're certainly starting to show now, though. You're what, twenty weeks? Can you feel some movement?"

"Oh definitely!" replied Harry. "Scrumpy's pretty lively during the day and at night, well - somersaults it seems and a few kicks! But I feel wonderful."

"And you look it, darling." said Angela. "I mean you've always had lovely skin, but there's such a glow about you, it's striking."

In the snooker room, Rupert and Dempsey were standing side by side, awaiting their turn on the table

"Any news on Robert?" asked Rupert, chalking his cue.

"Last thing I heard he'd skipped off ta Europe." replied Dempsey, taking the chalk when he'd finished and covering the tip with it. "But he's gotta come up for air sometime an' when he does, I'll be waitin'!"

"James, we all know how you feel. God forbid, we'd all want to kill the bastard too." said Rupert. "But don't go at it all alone. The last thing Harry needs right now, is you banged up for murder."

"Rupert, give me a break, will ya!" retorted James. "I ain't that stoopid. I might wanna kill the worthless sonofabitch, but I ain't gonna actually _do_ it! There's more than one way of scarin' 'im off for good, trust me."

An enjoyable evening was rounded off with them all playing charades, Alice confusing everybody by getting all the hand signals mixed up, her mistakes only being discovered when, exasperated by an array of puzzled faces before her, blurted out "Television!" having given them all the sign of a film!

So now, in week twenty-four of her pregnancy, she and Dempsey finally moved back home and, having settled back in, were discussing their next course of action in trying to discover, not only the actual whereabouts of Robert, but who he had paid to attack Dempsey.

"I think we should go and see Winnie." said Harry. "She's probably wondering if we've deserted her. It's been weeks and weeks since we last saw her in hospital and we did promise to pop in after she'd been discharged."

"Think she may have heard of somethin'?" asked Dempsey.

"She's always got her eyes open and ears to the ground, darling." replied Harry. "You never know she may have picked up some info."

"Okay, first thing tomorrow we'll go see her." agreed Dempsey. "Now, how's 'bout an early night."

"Mmmm, great minds..." she replied, taking his hand.

The next morning, Harry, to her relief, found the lifts in Winnie's apartment block were working for once, a blessing now that she was six months pregnant. She hadn't been looking forward to climbing the stairs to the fifth floor, especially as the July weather was hot and dry.

As they reached her door, it opened and a middle aged man stepped out, calling out to Winnie as he left.

"Fanks, darlin', see ya soon."

Turning his shirt collar up and lowering his head, he marched past them without an sidewards glance.

"Winnie!?" called Harry, pushing the door open. "It's Jimmy and Harry Mac!"

She emerged wearing a skimpy nightdress that left nothing to the imagination.

"'Ello both!" she grinned, popping her head round the door and watching the middle aged man as he walked away. "'Scuse my garb, but 'e's a regular. All nighter, don' 'alf keep me bleedin' busy. Fink 'e must save it all up durin' the week! Come in, come in. Fancy a cuppa? Jus' boilin' up the kettle."

They followed her in and sat down while she went and fished out a dressing gown in her bedroom, then finished making the tea, handing them a cup each as she sat down opposite them.

"Wondered where you two's got to." she said. "Been a while since I saws yer."

Harry explained what had happened to them both, Winnie, although hardened to the ways of the underworld and its violence, looking increasingly upset and aghast as descriptions of the vicious attacks on them both unfolded.

"'Oly Muvver!" she gasped when Harry had finished. "What a bastard that ex 'a yours is 'Arry. 'An e's skipped the country you say? Bleedin' coward!"

"Yes but he's taken his car, so Interpol are tracing him." said Harry. "We'll soon know when he returns here. What we wondered, Winnie, was whether you have heard, or can find out, who the three men were, who attacked James."

"As a matter of fact, come to fink of it, I did 'ear a whisper." replied Winnie. "Didn't take much notice at the time, 'cept the rumour was these geezers were told to kick the 'ell outta the victims goolies! Attacks of that sort are rare. Usually it's jus' kick the shite outta 'em as a warnin', an' put 'em in 'ospital like."

"Can you do some diggin' Winnie?" asked Dempsey.

"Yeah 'course I can Jimmy." she replied, then glancing at his crotch. "'Ow is the old man? Workin' as it should?"

"Yeah, perfectly, thanks." chuckled Dempsey, Harry giggling too.

"That's alright then, eh 'Arry?" said Winnie, grinning at her. "An' you, girl. Betcha was worried sick 'bout the nipper in there, eh?"

"Very!" replied Harry. "But I was only eight weeks gone so the baby was still very tiny and well protected."

"Frickin' animal!" exclaimed Winnie. "I'd 'ave 'ad 'is nadgers off in a flash if I got hold of 'im! That'd teach 'im! As fer them uvver free, I'll get right on it today an' let yer know."

"That'd be great, Winnie." replied Dempsey, finishing his tea.

"Yes, thank you." agreed Harry, finishing hers too. "And you're looking fully fit now. No after effects?"

"Nah, all back ta normal, luv." replied Winnie. "Took a while fer all of it ta 'eal up, so I 'ad ta be a bit careful with them that wanted special extras, if yer get me drift, but no probs now."

"I'm so glad you're okay, Winnie." said Harry. "That Davidovich was a brute!"

"Any idea what 'appened to 'im?" asked Winnie, her dark Negress's eyes hard and unforgiving.

"No, the Russians took him away." replied Harry, shivering again as thought of what may have happened to him under interrogation crossed through her mind. "Anyway we must go, Winnie. Hope to hear from you later."

"Yeah, leave it wiv me 'Arry." replied Winnie, standing up as they did and escorting them to her front door, waving as they walked away and shouting. "Be in touch! Laters!"

When they walked back into SI-10 for the first time in four months, a huge cheer went up from the rest of the team and they were clapped as they sat down at their desks, grinning at everyone.

Hearing all the noise from his office, Spikings came out to see what all the fuss was about, a scowl on his face, but which turned to a grin when he saw them both.

"Come in, both of you." he said, returning inside his office, Dempsey and Harry following him in.

"So, you're both back." said Spikings. "You fully fit, Lieutenant?"

"Sure Chief, rarin' ta go."

"And you Harry. How many weeks now?" he asked.

"Twenty-four, sir." she replied. "So about another sixteen to go, give or take."

"Hmm, well I'll ensure your duties are light." said Spikings. "Probably bore you to tears, but you've already had one scare, I'm not going to risk another."

"Thank you, sir." said Harry. "We dropped by to see Winnie Simons this morning. She's going to ask around and see if she can unearth who the gang was who assaulted James."

"What's the latest on Makepeace?" asked Dempsey. "Any idea where he is?"

"Last seen travelling south through Spain, Dempsey." answered Spikings. "Don't worry, we've got him covered. So long as he doesn't change his car, we'll know his whereabouts."

"What are the chances of him changing it?" asked Harry. "He had a Jaguar when we were married."

"He's recently bought an Audi Quattro, Harry." replied Spikings. "Brand new too, so I doubt he'll get rid of it abroad. He'll lose a fortune."

"Ok, so it's jus' a matter of waitin' 'til he shows up in the UK." growled Dempsey.

"We'll get him." said Spikings, darkly. "We'll get him."

Later that afternoon, Harry's telephone rang, she having to wait as the beeps went, obviously the call being made from a telephone kiosk.

"Hello, Harriet Dempsey." she answered, when they stopped.

"'Arry? It's me Winnie."

"Yes Winnie, what have you got?"

"Them geezers you was talkin' 'bout." she replied. "The ones who set 'bout Jimmy."

"Yes?"

"They drink in the Dog and Duck, down Whitechapel." said Winnie. "Willy Perkins, Dickie Smith an' Frankie Merchant. All bouncers at various clubs in Soho. Leave it wiv yer."

"Great, thanks Winnie, you're a star!" replied Harry, then replaced her telephone and related the information to Dempsey.

"Lads!?" he called out to the rest of the team. "Gather round."


	13. Chapter 13

**Safely fly the stork.**

**13.**

After Dempsey had finished talking to the team and while they returned to their various stations, Harry leaned across from her desk and whispered to him.

"James! Don't you think it's a bit early for you to get down and dirty with those men who attacked you? If they recognise you and get you cornered, there's every chance they'll start on you again. And given the opportunity, they could cripple you permanently down there this time."

"Honey, stop ya worryin'." he smiled. "I'm deliberately takin' the whole team this time - we'll outnumber 'em three ta one."

"For God's sake, James!" replied Harry, anxiously. "Is it lost on you there might be friends of theirs in that pub!?"

"I ain't plannin' on facin' 'em in the pub." he said. "We'll split 'em up once they're outside. I wanna get em' all in cells here, then we can get 'em ta admit it was Makepeace who put em' up to it. Once we got written statements, ya ex ain't gonna have a leg ta stand on!"

"So why haven't you told the boys the full plan?" asked Harry.

"'Cos they're spoilin' for a fight an' I wanna get 'em all fired up." he grinned. "An' it's worked! They're champin' at the bit! Once we're outside that pub, I'll tell 'em how it's gonna go down. Trust me, it'll be okay, angel."

"And Spikings?" she asked. "Shouldn't he be in the loop?"

"Nah, not this time, honey." replied Dempsey. "If things did get outta hand, which they won't, but _if_ they did, it'd be bedder he knew nothin' 'bout it."

"Well, for God's sake be careful!" she whispered again, urgently and not altogether in agreement with him over Spikings being kept out of it.

"Doncha worry, tiger." he grinned again. "Ya old man's old man ain't gonna come ta no harm."

That night, while Harry stayed at home and fretted, Dempsey met the team at another pub just down the road from the 'Dog and Duck' and outlined his plan to them, explaining that, just like them, he'd like nothing more than to steam in a give them a pasting, but they had to show restraint. They were detectives, not vigilante's and must behave as such.

Reluctantly, they agreed. They really were up for this, not just out of respect for Dempsey and the cowardice of three men on one, but also because their prey were linked to Robert Makepeace and his vile and vicious attack on Harry.

It was a hot summer's night and the pubs were busy with revellers, throngs of them milling about outside, drinking, laughing and talking.

Chas had identified all three of the men they were seeking, via his computer data base, each one of them having police records for grievous bodily harm and disturbing the peace. The team had seen their faces from photographs, each one of them etched into their memories, and it was with a certain degree of relief that they weren't mixing with friends outside the 'Dog and Duck'.

They'd be inside and isolated.

And the pub would be relatively empty.

"Change of plan, guys." said Dempsey, as they gathered round him. "Too many people outside, but not many inside, so we nab 'em at the bar. Chas, Jamie, Josh, you're with me. Terry, Jon, you cover the rear of the place, the rest of ya, stay outside. An' all of ya's, keep ya eyes peeled in case they try an' make a run for it. Ok?"

They all nodded and took up their allotted stations, while Dempsey and his trio of colleagues entered the pub.

Willie Perkins, Dickie Smith and Frankie Merchant were up at the bar, backs turned to the entrance, all three of them heavily involved in vying for the attention of a large breasted barmaid, the buttons of her skimpy, off the shoulder blouse fighting to stay in place and threatening at any moment to burst open.

"Ever 'ad a freesome, luv?" Frankie Merchant was asking.

"Might 'ave." came the reply, all three men's body language clearly anticipating an interesting night to come.

"Three on one's jus' 'bout ya bag, huh buster?" said Dempsey, by this time standing right behind him, badge drawn and ready.

All three swung round, momentarily startled, and recognized him instantly.

"Don' even think 'bout makin' a run for it." he scowled, holding up his ID. "The backs covered, the fronts covered, an' we're jus itchin' ta have an excuse to beat the crap outta you three!"

"Turn round and face the bar, hands behind your backs." instructed Chas.

All three didn't move.

"You got nuvvin' on us!" exclaimed Dickie Smith.

"We'll see 'bout that, dumbass!" replied Dempsey. "An' we'll have ya cuffed for resistin' arrest anyways up. You're comin' with us for questionin' so turn ya sorry butts aroun' and put ya hands behind ya!"

"Questionin' 'bout what?" snarled Frankie Merchant.

"Beatin' up on me!" replied Dempsey, his face an inch away, his eyes blazing.

"You don' know it were us!" shouted Willie Perkins. "We was wearing balaclava's!"

Dempsey, along with the rest of them all, stared at him, unable to believe what they'd just heard. Chas, Josh and Jaimie began to chuckle, Dempsey joining in.

"Seems Einstein here's jus' confessed!" he exclaimed, looking at his colleagues and grinning before turning his attention back to the now scowling three villains. "So, turn aroun'!"

Glaring at Willie, Frankie and Dickie did as they were told, all three quickly being handcuffed and marched out of the door. Thirty minutes later they were each in a cell in the bowels of SI-10.

"Sweet dreams." chuckled Dempsey as he slammed the doors shut on each of them and went home to Harry.

She was anxiously waiting up for him, all sorts of visions having passed through her mind whilst he'd been gone. Scrumpy had been more than usually active too, probably conscious of the tension in her, which only added to a constant reminder of the danger she imagined he was facing.

She fell into his arms as he came through the door, all her tension melting away as he kissed her and led her through to the lounge.

"Whisky darling?" she asked, as she walked to the sideboard, took hold of an exquisite cut glass decanter from a solid silver tray and began pouring a generous measure of Jack Daniels into an equally exquisite cut glass tumbler, dropping two squares of ice into it, then handing it to him.

"Thanks, honey." he said, taking a large draught, then chuckling.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

He related the idiotic response from Willie Perkins, Harry, at first, believing he was joking and deliberately making light of a potentially dangerous encounter, then sat back and held her stomach whilst laughing with him when she realized he wasn't making it up.

"What a dope!" she laughed, cuddling up to him as his arm went around her shoulder, then grabbing his other hand and placing it on her stomach. "Feel Scrumpy kicking?"

He rested it there for a moment, then grinned as he felt a kick.

"That's my boy!" he said, smiling.

"Boy?" she queried, smiling back. "Could be a tomboy or a pretty little feminine girl who wants nothing but dolls around her."

"I don' care much 'bout that, honey." he replied, kissing her. "Jus' so long as ya both healthy."

"You know, we should make a start on the nursery, darling." she said, kissing him back. "And names? We've not even begun to think of those."

"I guess we can wait a while before we settle on names, angel." he replied, beginning to caress her. "Maybe even leave it 'til you've given birth. Then we'll brainstorm it!"

"Hmmm ok, but I've already thought of Charlotte Grace if its a girl or Henry Oliver if Scrumpy's a boy." she said. "What do you think of those?"

"Yeah, sound great." replied Dempsey. "But I thought of Emma Lily or Michael Finn."

"Oh gosh, I quite like those too." sighed Harry, shivering with pleasure as his fingers slid up and down from her hips to her shoulder.

"Why don't we sleep on it." she murmured, intimately returning his caresses, giggling as he, at first, downed the rest of his drink in one go, then, taking her hand, led her to bed.

The following morning, when they arrived at SI-10, Spikings was soon out of his office and on the warpath.

"I want some answers from you lot!" he growled, looking around at his team, one by one. "How come we have three guests in the cells that I knew nothing about!? And who the hell are they!? Dempsey!? Chas!?"

"Er, well yeah, sorry Chief." replied Dempsey. "It was a kinda off the cuff sorta thing. An' it was my idea ta go after them bozo's followin' a tip off as to where we'd find 'em. They're the guys who jumped me."

"I gathered as much!" said Spikings. "And why didn't you run your little plan past me before you commandeered my entire team!?"

"I guess 'cos if it went milky you could deny all responsibilty, boss." replied Dempsey, Harry squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation of the fall out about to hit them all from that revelation.

"IT IS MY JOB TO TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY, LIEUTENANT!" he bellowed, his face turning purple with rage. "THAT'S WHY I HEAD UP THIS TEAM!"

"Sorry Guv." said Chas, hoping to defuse the tense atmosphere. "It wasn't just Dempsey. We were all up for it and I suppose because it was more of a job to be done in our spare time rather than an official case, so to speak, we didn't really give much thought to telling you about it."

Spikings stared at him in silence, the rest of them wondering what reaction he was about to give.

"All of you." he finally said. "The result of whatever mission, or missions, you are on, in private or officially, will eventually land on my desk. The buck stops right here - with me. Success means no repercussions, but failure and the roof caves in. Therefore, the next time one, any, or all of you, embark on something without my prior knowledge and agreement, is a time we will part company. Even if it means disbanding SI-10! Do I make myself clear!"

"Yes sir." they all replied in unison.

"Right!" said Spikings, then glaring at Chas and Dempsey. "You two - my office!"

As Dempsey got up to follow Chas, he glanced at Harry who mouthed 'good luck' at him and smiled. He winked back and disappeared into Spikings' office, closing the door behind him.

Spikings sat down at his desk and then looked at them both.

"I've said my piece. But I want you to know, Dempsey, that I was just as angered by what happened to you and Harry as the rest of 'em out there." he said. "I would have been pleased to have been part of your little operation last night."

"Sorry Chief, real sorry." replied Dempsey. "I guess I misjudged ya, an' I was dead wrong. It won' happen again, that's a promise."

"Good, okay." said Spikings. "Now, go and get those three idiots to write statements and we've got enough to arrest Robert Makepeace and obtain a conviction."

"Do we know his latest whereabouts, Guv? asked Chas.

"Last report had him in France and heading north." replied Spikings. "That could mean he's making for Calais or Boulogne to catch a ferry. Once we know whether he's heading for Dover or Folkestone, we'll be ready to meet him."

"So nobody else is gonna arrest him." said Dempsey.

"No Lieutenant." smiled Spikings. "That joy will befall us! We'll nab him at the customs check. I suspect he thinks enough time has passed now since his attack on Harry, that it'll have been forgotten."

"Then he's crazier than I give him credit for." replied Dempsey.

Chas was about to agree when there came a knock at the door.

"COME!" yelled Spikings.

Josh came in clutching some paperwork which he handed over to Spikings.

"Three statements, Guv." he said, as Spikings took them. "Got a call from downstairs saying our guests were ready to talk, so me and Jaimie have interviewed all three, separate of course, and got these written out and signed."

Spikings glanced through them noting all the salient points and nodded.

"Well done Josh." he said, handing them over to Dempsey. "It's all there - how they were recruited by Robert Makepeace, instructed specifically on where on your body to concentrate their attack and payment details."

Dempsey whistled.

"A grand up front, an' another grand when the job's done!" he said. "Jeez, some guys get paid that for a full blown hit with shooters! Six grand just ta teach me a lesson for succeeding where he miserably failed!"

"He must still be so hung up on Harry to have gone to these lengths." remarked Chas. "Yet, in his twisted jealousy, he deliberately tries to wreck her life."

"And not for the first time, either." said Spikings. "We need to stop him for good this time, especially as Harry is only three months away from full term pregnancy. She's much more vulnerable now."

When Dempsey returned to his desk, Harry was eager to know what had been said. She'd seen Josh go in, but knew all about the written statements seeing as he had shown them to her beforehand.

"Your scumbag ex is headed for one of the French ferry ports, princess." he said. "We'll have him covered wherever he disembarks and arrest him."

"Did Spikings go mad at you again in there?" she asked.

"Nah. He said he'd have wanted to be part of it all." replied Dempsey, smiling. "He's jus' as pissed off at what has happened to us both, as everyone else."

Later that afternoon, a call came through from Interpol, informing them that Robert was booked on the cross channel ferry from Calais to Dover at six pm GMT, arriving ninety minutes later.

"I'm coming with you, Dempsey." announced Harry. "Wild horses won't keep me away from seeing that bastard get arrested."

"You sure, honey?" he replied. "I know ya wanna be there, but you okay to travel that distance in your condition?"

"For pity sake!" she said, exasperated. "I'm pregnant! That's all! Dear God! Men!"

So at five that afternoon, they set off together for the two hour drive to Dover, Spikings, Chas, Josh and Jaimie ahead in Spikings' black Rover Vitesse and arrived at the customs post just before seven pm.

Around an hour later, Robert's red Audi Quattro appeared in the slow moving queue clearing customs.

As a uniformed customs officer raised his hand, he came slowly to a halt, looking a little startled, since the cars in front of him had all been waved through.

Then his face dropped as Dempsey stepped into view, Harry by his side, the others surrounding the car in case he decided to make a run for it.

"Get out!" snarled Dempsey through the driver's window, then stood back a little as Robert opened his door and stepped out, his face now white with fear.

Dempsey grabbed him and roughly turned him round, slamming him up against his car and pulling his arms round to his back before clapping a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

He spun him round again and pushed him hard up against the car once more before placing his face close to Robert's, his eyes on fire with anger and hatred, his teeth clenched.

"I'm arresting you for grievous bodily harm by association and the attempted murder of an unborn infant. _Our _unborn infant! An' I'm gonna make sure the judge in your case is a woman! Josh? Read this sonofabitch his goddamn rights!"

"Harry, I'm soo sorry!" wailed Robert, visibly shaking from head to foot. "I had a mad moment!"

"Go to hell!" exclaimed Harry, her blue eyes as cold as ice. "Don't you ever, _ever_ come anywhere near me again!"

"Please Harry, I love you!" he cried. "I've never stopped loving you!"

Harry just stood there, looking at him, shaking her head in contempt at his brazen outpouring of love for her. She slipped her arm through Dempsey's, turned her back and slowly walked away, Robert now bereft and weeping like a little child.

"Come on darling." she said to Dempsey, snuggling into him as they walked towards their car. "We'd better make a start on that nursery, don't you think?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Safely fly the stork.**

**14.**

Over the course of the next four weeks, all their spare time was spent turning the smallest of the five bedroomed home into a nursery.

Its existing contents, a single bed, warddrobe, chest of drawers, bedside table, armchair and even the curtains, were despatched to a local charity, leaving the room bare.

Standing in the centre, Harry and Dempsey looked around.

"How about the ceiling white, then one colour for each wall." she suggested. "Pastel shades of lemon, green and lavender, with one wall in cream. What do you think?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me, princess." he replied, beaming at her.

One of the things he loved so much about Harry was that, despite being a multi-millionairess in her own right, she was happy to often eschew the trappings of wealth.

Now pregnant, she could so easily have left the decorating of the nursery to some fancy interior designer and, later, demand the employment of a nanny, but her grounded upbringing meant she never gave such things a second thought.

Dempsey placed an arm around her shoulder, pulled her to him and kissed her.

"Let's go get our paints an' stuff, huh?" he said.

Harry giggled. "Put like that, anyone would think we were in kindergarten about to paint by numbers!"

"Get on with ya!" replied Dempsey, grinning and smacking her backside playfully.

Squealing and giggling with happiness, she took his hand as they went out to the car and set off for the nearest DIY centre.

They completed the room in two days, putting up a new set of curtains depicting a host of farmyard animals with Dempsey fitting a dimmer switch as a final touch, the room looking especially cosy when in half light.

Then came the furniture, the essentials and the accessories.

Cot and mattress, Moses basket, changing table with mat, baby monitors, whirlygigs and a couple of tall boys to house the multitude of clothes, nappies, powder, wipes, towels and additional bedding, not to mention toys, rattles and soft, stuffed animals.

It was just as well they had started when they did, because by Harry's thirtieth week, she was really beginning to feel tired and breathless a lot of the time and suffered with leg cramps during the night, not to mention the return of several noctural trips to the bathroom to relieve a bursting bladder.

However, her sex drive remained undiminished, and she was thrilled that, despite her changing shape and growing tummy, Dempsey still found her irrestible.

During her thirty-first week, they were both called by the prosecuting counsel to give evidence at Robert Makepeace's trial and that of his three accomplices.

When the hearings had been completed, their friends, Rupert, Arabella, Angela, Ollie, Joyce, Roger, Hugo and Belinda, together with Spikings and the team were there to witness the verdicts pronounced, followed by the judge's summing up and sentences passed.

Baronness Celia Freeman-Willis, QC, was a woman of thirty years experience and a wife and mother in her own right, and, despite being privately satisfied, remained impassive when the jury unanminously found all four culpable of Category 1 and guilty of grevious bodily harm with intent to cause permanent injury.

Dealing with Willie Perkins, Dickie Smith and Frankie Merchant first, she threw the book at them.

"All three of you before this court, deliberately inflicted an injury upon your victim that could have rendered him impotent and therefore unable to father children ever again. I find that, in itself, particularly evil and all for nothing more than your pieces of eight. You will each serve the maximum allowed of twelve years in prison, with my recommendation that parole will only be considered after a minimum period of ten years. Take them down!"

Turning to Robert, she found it difficult to keep a scowl from her face and, for a moment, stared at him in silence, before forcing the return of an impassive gaze.

"Robert Makepeace." she said finally. "You have been found guilty of grevious bodily harm with intent to cause an innocent and pregnant woman to miscarry, with the added possibility that she could have been rendered barren and unable to conceive ever again. As with your accomplices, I find that an heinous crime and am without mercy. You will therefore go to prison for sixteen years, with my recommendation that you serve a minimum of twelve years before parole can be considered. Take him down!"

As his legs buckled from under him, two burly court officers grabbed him under his armpits and, with him half stumbling, began to drag him to the stairs that led down to the bowels of the court building.

He looked up to the gallery, searching for Harry, sobbing like a little child and, having spotted her, sitting with Freddy on one side, Dempsey the other, yelled out.

"Harry! Harry! I'm so sorry! I love you Harry!"

They just stared silently back at him, utter contempt clear in their eyes, their faces momentarily frozen in disgust, those looks the last expressions he would remember and which would haunt him every time he closed his eyes, especially at night while lying on the hard, unforgiving bed in his prison cell.

None of the three found cause for celebration though and, having solemnly shaken hands with Spikings and the rest of the team, all of whom had been given special dispensation to attend the verdict and subsequent conviction, walked in silence from the court to Freddy's waiting Rolls Royce.

"Harry darling, you're only a few weeks away from D day." he said, as he settled himself in the rear seat, Harry alongside him, Dempsey in the front with Abbott chauffering. "I know how independent you are, but don't you think it would be an idea if you both moved in with me? After all, Alice and Gloria are bursting to be of help and with James working all day, at least you will have help on hand if, as or when you may need it."

Dempsey turned round and glanced at her, the look on his face indicating complete agreement with Freddy's suggestion.

"You're almost eight months gone now, honey." he said. "Didn't ya say, that'd be when ya'd wanna stop workin'?"

"Yes, I did." she agreed, looking from him to Freddy, then nodding. "Alright, you win. We're all prepared at home now, so let's say we'll make the move at the end of the week."

"Splendid." grinned Freddy. "We'll be ready for you. Now, what about a spot of lunch at my club."

It was just as well she'd accepted Freddy's proposal. She had been gaining an average in weight of about a pound per week, and her blood volume had increased by up to fifty percent.

Still experiencing the normal pregnancy symptoms: fatigue, pregnancy pains, constipation, heartburn, insomnia, shortness of breath, cramps in her legs, an occasional nosebleed, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, mood swings, stretch marks, contractions, and sometimes, even at this late stage, nausea, Alice, and in particular Gloria, were a godsend, Harry knowing that Dempsey, for all his attention, love and concern, would have started struggling to cope with her now rapidly changing condition.

Whereas she'd been getting used to Scrumpy kicking on average about ten times per hour, now those kicks were close on ten times every two hours, and at thirty three weeks, she was having to learn new ways to walk, sit, stand and lie. Alice, however, forever eager to be of help, was ever present with a bowl of warm water, and constantly urging her to soak her feet in order to relieve the discomfort.

Apart from heartburn, due to relaxation of the muscles in the lower esophagus, in her thirty-fourth week she noticed that the swelling in her hands, wrists, face, legs, ankles and feet was increasing and accompanied by severe headaches and some dizziness.

Gloria immediately told her to contact her doctor, as the latter could be a sign of pre-eclampsia. The swelling was due to water retention, the doctor actually ordering her to start drinking more water, as drinking less water would only make the situation worse. She did as she was told and the swelling dutifully receded, albeit gradually.

To alleviate her heartburn, Gloria made her eat six to seven small meals a day as opposed to the usual two or three normal sized ones and Dempsey surprised her by arranging for a massuese to visit every other day, which significantly helped reduce the swelling and pain throughout her body.

At thirty-six weeks, Harry was consumed with excitement, despite her discomfort.

It marked nine months since she'd conceived and she felt a sense of relief that she'd come this far, especially having survived Roberts attack and sleepless nights during Dempsey's hospitalisation, as well as the many pitfalls that can blight a pregnancy.

For instance, although this was an exciting time, it can also be a time of anxiety and she'd been seeing her doctor on a weekly basis to ensure that everything was moving along just fine.

But her doctor suggested she should undergo screening for Group B Streptococcus, which is a bacterium commonly found in healthy women and if passed to the baby during birth, can cause serious lung infections.

By undergoing screening at around week thirty-six, she would find out whether she carried this type of bacteria and, if so, would be treated with antibiotics during labour to prevent those infections reaching the baby.

Thankfully she was clear and, feeling elated, she turned to Dempsey whilst sitting up in bed that night.

"James, how about if we throw a small dinner party for our close friends."

"You sure 'bout that, princess?" he asked, a little surprised. "You ain't been feelin' too good have ya. You think now is the right time to have a pardy?"

"Yes darling, I do." she replied, smiling. "It's a milestone. Nine months and only a few weeks to go. Once Scrumpy is born, neither of us will have much time for entertaining, so why not now while we still can. And we haven't seen them for so long. I mean, I know they were all there at the court but we didn't have any time with them, did we."

"It's okay by me, honey." he grinned in reply. "So long as you're sure."

"Yes, I'm sure." she smiled. "I'll arrange it first thing tomorrow."

The following Saturday evening all eight friends arrived in a mini-bus and trooped, laughing and chattering, into the vast, luxurious lounge, the topic of conversation soon turning to Robert and his conviction.

"What a sorry specimen he did look being dragged away." remarked Angela. "And the audacity of the man to profess his love for you, after all he's put you through, Harry! It beggars belief!"

"I always suspected he possessed a twisted personality and that became more evident after we married." replied Harry. "But to manifest itself into such maliciousness really did take me by surprise. He was never physically violent towards me, it was always mental, constantly putting me down and making me feel utterly worthless."

"Yeah, well all his chickens'll be comin' home to roost now, honey." butted in Dempsey.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, suspiciously. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Let's just say there'll be no hidin' place where he's goin'!" replied Dempsey, his face dark with suppressed anger, a look she only saw when he was face to face with men of evil intent and a look that brooked no argument.

"I think that's enough talk about Robert Makepeace, don't you?" said Freddy, before breaking into a grin. "We have much more joyous subjects to chat about, such as Harry reaching nine months and a Christmas soon upon us with a new addition to the family to celebrate."

"Hear hear!" chirped up Alice, raising her glass of champagne, the others following suit and toasting a beaming Harry.

After dinner, whilst the men retreated to the lounge for brandy and cigars, the girls stayed at the dining table, Angela moving round it to sit down next to Harry, the first chance she'd had all evening for a one to one with her closest friend.

"Darling you look an absolute a picture of health." she said, closing her hand over Harry's and squeezing it. "You seem to have sailed through the last nine months."

"More or less, Ange, yes." replied Harry. "On the whole I've had a pretty easy time of it compared with some in the antenatal classes I've been to."

"And how are things in the erm..."

"You mean are we still at it like rabbits?" giggled Harry. "Let's just say we manage. And yes, James still wants me as much as ever, despite everything."

"Oh Harry, how fantastic. You two really have found the magic haven't you." replied Angela. "And what about names? Have you settled on any?"

"No, we haven't actually." said Harry. "We've done everything else. The nursery is all ready and I've stocked up with just about all I'll need, but we've yet to even _discuss_ names, let alone agree on them."

"I know what we could do." said Angela, suddenly, a wide smile crossing her face. "Why don't we all kick things off and write down names on pieces of paper. Then you and James can have a look at them later. You never know, there maybe one or two you really like."

"Trust you, Angela!" laughed Harry. "Okay, just for fun, go ahead."

After Angela had gathered everyone together and put her suggestion to them, they all agreed to go along with it, Freddy finding a suitable hat from somewhere, and giving everybody a pack of post-it notes and a pencil.

Each person then wrote a christian name and middle name for both a boy and a girl, and placed their suggestions into the hat as it was passed around, Freddy finally collecting and handing it over to Dempsey with a pronounced flourish that had everyone laughing.

It was two weeks later and four in the morning when Harry awoke and felt the first of her contractions. Quickly waking Dempsey, she calmly allowed him to take control and sat quietly in the car as he rushed her to the Kensington Wing of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, who provided a bespoke maternity service.

Once Harry was settled and waiting to go into labour, Dempsey put a quick call into the mansion, Abbott answering and passing the message on immediately Dempsey rang off.

By the time Freddy, Alice and Gloria had arrived, Harry's waters had broken.

**NB. Although I haven't hinted at the sex, may I, nevertheless, invite anyone who is reading this story, to join in the fun and submit their favoured christian name and middle name for Harry and James's baby. The box for review below can serve as the hat! :-)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Safely fly the stork.**

**15.**

Saturday, November 12th 1988 : 4.30 am.

As her contractions became stronger and more painful, Harry began with the relaxation and breathing exercises she'd practised during her antenatal classes, Dempsey right beside her, holding one hand and rubbing her back with the other in an effort to relieve her pain.

She was in active labour for just under three hours, her contractions eventually coming every two to three minutes and lasting a full sixty seconds.

Having refused the assistance of an epidural, Harry gritted her teeth and with the encouragement of the midwife and support of Dempsey, she reached the point where it was natural to push, her hair matted to her forehead, her eyes tightly closed in effort and concentration, her face shiny with perspiration and being constantly wiped with a cool hand towel by Dempsey.

At this point, she eshewed his help, wanting to eliminate any assistance as she felt the baby start its final journey into the bright lights of the delivery room.

After one last, forceful push, there was a momentary silence, suddenly broken by an infant cry and seconds later, a little bundle, wrapped in a white, soft, fluffy blanket was laid on Harry's bare stomach, the baby inside all warm and toasty, then cleaned and dried, bonding every second with her.

"Congratulations." said the midwife. "You have a beautiful baby daughter."

After the umbilical chord had been clamped then severed, the placenta delivered and Scrumpy weighed, she was then in Harry's arms, emitting soft little grunts, the tiny, perfectly formed fingers flexing and gripping Harry's proffered thumb, a serene expression of happiness across her little face.

Harry marvelled at her, then glanced up at Dempsey, both of them grinning in ecstatic realisation that they were parents, tears forming in their eyes as he leaned in and kissed her, then gently placed his lips on his daughters forehead for the first time.

"I always thought newborn babies were supposed to look like cross little oranges." remarked Harry. "All wrinkled and puffy and jaundiced, but she just looks so normal and, well, beautiful."

"Very few babies are born looking like your daughter, Lady Harriet." replied the midwife, gazing at Scrumpy in adoration. "But, on rare occasions, they can come through like this."

"My husband and I have been referring to her as Scrumpy all through my pregnancy." admitted Harry. "Short for scrumptious."

"Well she's certainly that." smiled the midwife. "Have you settled on a name yet?"

"Can we call her Alexandra Rose?" whispered Harry, looking up at Dempsey again, the name suddenly coming into her head as if it had been waiting in the wings all along. Whether it was one of the names drawn out of the hat from their recent party or two at random that had stuck in her memory she didn't know, but what she did know, was that they were a natural combination that suited her new born daughter to a tee.

"Sure we can, honey." replied a smiling Dempsey. "Alexandra it is, an' she's as pink as a rose right now."

"That's settled then." beamed Harry, before turning to the midwife. "How heavy was she?"

"Eight stone seven pounds, Lady Harriet." she replied. "Do you want to see if she's hungry?"

As if it were the most natural thing in the world to her, Harry lifted Alexandra to her breast, whereupon she suckled immediately, still grunting in satisfaction, her eyes open, soft and grey/blue and, although not fully focussed, staring at her mother as she fed.

"Like father like daughter." giggled Harry, as Alexandra made sure her mouth was firmly locked onto Harry's nipple.

The midwife blushed, Dempsey chuckled and Alexandra remained oblivious, eventually closing her eyes and falling asleep, her little tummy full of mothers milk, a satisfied smile across her tiny deep red coloured lips.

"Can I hold her now?" asked Dempsey as he gazed at his sleeping daughter.

"Oh darling, of course you can." replied Harry, watching as he reached down and, carefully supporting Alexandra's head, lifted her into his arms and cradled her, the look of unmistakable pride in his eyes causing Harry to laugh and cry all at the same time.

It was at that moment Freddy's head appeared round the door, an expression of mixed consternation and concern on his face which quickly turned to delight at seeing Dempsey holding his little bundle.

He stepped into the room, closely followed by Gloria and Alice, and immediately went to Harry's side, bending down to kiss her before joining Dempsey and peering at his tiny, sleeping granddaughter.

"May I?" he asked, stretching out his arms in anticipation and gently taking Alexandra, tears beginning to fill his eyes, Alice and Gloria already sobbing with joy, both ever eager to hold her too.

"Have you decided on a name?" he asked, glancing over at Harry, then at Dempsey, before quickly wiping away a tear.

"Yes Daddy." she replied. "Alexandra Rose."

"Perfect, just perfect." he beamed, and, no longer able to hold off Alice from relieving him, shook Dempsey by the hand, as the two ladies cooed over the new addition to the family.

Exhausted now, Harry fell asleep, and Gloria suggested they all leave and give her some peace and quiet. Alexandra was then checked over by a paediatrician and, having been given a clean bill of health, was placed in a cot next to the bed, sleeping soundly.

"Come on James, my boy, time to wet the baby's head!" said Freddy when they were out in the corridor, and having dropped Alice and Gloria back at the mansion and toasted Dempsey and Harry with a bottle of Krug, he ordered a taxi and instructed Abbott to contact Rupert, Hugo, Roger and Ollie with messages to meet them at his club in Mayfair, whereupon he arranged for a lavish, celebratory lunch with an abundance of fine wines, port and brandy.

Needless to say, when Dempsey visited Harry the next morning, at first hidden behind a huge bouquet of red, pink and yellow roses as he entered her room, she couldn't help but laugh when she caught sight of his pale complexion and still bleary, somewhat bloodshot, eyes.

"Oh dear me." she giggled, Alexandra busily feeding at her breast. "Daddy's really done a number on you, hasn't he."

"Yeah, ya could say that, princess." he croaked, marvelling once more at his beautiful little daughter. "Ya father organized a lunch which lasted all afternoon and much of the evenin'. Then he insisted on bringin' everyone back to his place for a snooker tournament!"

"That doesn't surprise me in the least." laughed Harry. "He loves snooker and never passes up an opportunity to get a game going. What time did you get to bed?"

"Honey, I've no idea! All I remember is Abbott by my side, haulin' me to our room." chuckled Dempsey. "Anyways, how're my girls?"

"We're doing just fine, thank you daddy." she said, glancing down at Alexandra and smiling. "Your father's been led astray by your naughty grandpa."

"When d'ya wanna come home, sugar?" asked Dempsey.

"I've decided to stay in for a couple of days. Catch up on some sleep and be really ready to take this little madam on when we get home."

"Freddy's asked if we'd like to stay with him for a week or so." said Dempsey, clearing his throat. "I know you wanna get home an' all honey, but I guess we shouldn't pass up the opportunity of havin' Alice an' Gloria ta help out? Whaddya think?"

"I'd rather they came to us." replied Harry. "I mean, we've all the equipment we need at home, so it would be a real upheaval to move lock, stock and barrel into Daddy's place. But we're very lucky to have such help on hand and Gloria won't be here for very much longer, so it will be nice for her to see a lot of Alexandra until she goes back to New York."

"Did I hear my name mentioned?" said Gloria grinning widely, as she, Alice, Angela, Belinda, Joyce and Arabella trooped into the room, each clutching bouquets of flowers and potted plants.

Dempsey leaned in and kissed Harry's lips, then Alexandra's chubby, flushed cheeks.

"I guess this is my cue to skedaddle, honey. See ya in a little while" he chuckled, before looking at their guests. "Nice ya see ya ladies, don' ya go wearin' out my two girls now."

"See ya later, Jimmy." said Gloria, hugging her son and kissing his cheek, something she hadn't done for some time.

"Hmmm, Ma, what's gotten inta you, gettin' all soppy." replied Dempsey, grinning at her.

"I'm real proud of ya, son." she said. "Not only have ya come good with Harry there, but ya've given me the most beautiful baby gran'dauder any mother would wish of her son. An' I'll tell ya. She'll have your jet black hair an' olive skin an' Harry's blue eyes. She's gonna be a real stunner, jus' ya wait an' see!"

"How in the hell d'ya know all that, Ma?" challenged Dempsey. "She's only one day old, there's no tellin' what she'll look like."

"Trust me." replied Gloria. "Jus' an instinct, mebbee intuition, I dunno. But I jus' _know_!"

"Well if ya right, she's gonna have the fella's queuein' roun' the block!" chuckled Dempsey as he waved her goodbye and left the room.

Harry left hospital after two more days and it was a special moment for her and Dempsey when they laid Alexandra in her own cot for the first time, both of them gazing down at her as she slept, arms around each other, standing in silence for a while before creeping quietly out of the nursery.

With Gloria and Alice forever eager to help, Harry was able to rest regularly in between breast feeding and make a start on exercising her body back into trim, albeit gently to begin with.

Although Alexandra needed feeding and tending to on a twenty four hour basis, she and Dempsey took it in turns to attend to her, although Harry had the lions share at night, sometimes up for an hour and a half as Alexandra suckled her hungrily.

Christmas was especially magical.

Alexandra, as one would expect, was at the epicentre of everyones day and didn't disappoint, often cooing, grunting and humming and reacting to those around her - she obviously loved the attention, her eyes having lost the grey in them and now a stunning shade of blue.

"Will her eyes stay that colour, do you think?" asked Harry as she was changing her nappy in the nursery, Gloria on hand and talking baby talk, to which Alexandra was responding with gurgles and smiles.

"I'd say so, yeah." replied Gloria. "Ya never can be sure, some kids eyes can go from blue ta brown within twelve months. But, I gotta hunch this little honey'll keep her baby blues."

"She's still very bald too." said Harry. "I wonder if she'll be blonde or brunette."

"I said to Jimmy jus' after she was born." recalled Gloria. "She'll have his black hair, olive coloured skin and your blue eyes. Don' ask me how I know, but don' see if I ain't right."

"That would be quite a combination." remarked Harry, smiling at her daughter as she zipped up her one piece baby grow. "You're going to be one very popular young lady with the boys."

"Huh. That's jus' what Jimmy said." chuckled Gloria. "But any guy who comes a'knockin' on the door for her, is gonna have him ta go through first!"

"Poor boy." giggled Harry, her imagination running riot at the thought of Dempsey, the protective, doting father putting a prospective suitor through his paces before he was allowed anywhere near his beloved daughter.

As far as their love life was concerned, Freddy had broached the subject one evening when they were momentarily alone and drinking a glass of brandy each.

"Please don't think I'm poking my nose in where it's least wanted, James." he'd said. "And I certainly don't wish to cause you any embarrassment, but I thought you'd like to know that if Harry is anything like her mother, she'll be reaching for you again very soon."

"Er, yeah, well I didn't think it was that obvious." replied Dempsey, a little taken aback at Freddy's candour.

"It isn't my son." said Freddy. "But I know what it's like to have an active love life with the one you adore, and the fear it will never be the same again after child birth. There are plenty of stories of how marriages have come apart because the wife has lost interest. All I can tell you is you've nothing to worry about. You and Harry mirror my relationship with her mother, she's so very like her on pretty much every level. And I can tell you, that malady I've just mentioned won't infect your relationship."

For Harry's part, giving birth had been relatively easy on her body and she hadn't sustained any lasting injury that can occur in many cases. Those that she had, healed very quickly and despite feeling tired, her physical desire was returning rapidly.

On New Years Eve, they had decided against accepting an invitation to a party but invited their eight close friends over for happy hour drinks at five and who were going on to the festivities later.

Harry was looking radiant and beautiful in a short black evening dress and Dempsey couldn't help but notice the black stockings she was wearing along with that unmistakable mischief in her eye.

While he was pouring out some glasses of champagne, he felt her hands go round his waist from behind, her perfume filling his senses and her warm breath on the back of his neck.

"Happy darling?" she whispered.

"Hmmm, certainly am princess, 'specially as I see you're wearin' stockings." he replied. "I guess that tells me we ain't gonna get much sleep tonight."

"Not if I can help it, we aren't." she whispered, tantalizingly, before kissing his neck and reaching out to take a couple of glasses from him. "It's a brand new year in a few hours, so why not start it off as we mean to go on."

"My thoughts exactly." he replied, chuckling at her sexy giggle as she took two glasses over to Angela and Ollie.

"Thanks Harry. Have you arranged the christening yet?" asked Angela, immediately sipping the deliciously ice cold wine.

"Yes, January 28th. That's the last Saturday of the month. Alexandra will be eleven weeks old." replied Harry. "It'll be in the local church near Winfield Hall. We'll be sending out invitations this week."

"I have to say, Harry, you've kept your figure." admired Ollie. "No-one would have guessed you'd given birth a few weeks ago."

"Why, thank you Ollie." beamed Harry. "I've been regularly exercising and seem to have got back into shape much faster than I thought I might."

"You're one on your own Harry." agreed Angela. "I don't know anyone who can look so fabulous while pregnant, give birth to the most exquisitely beautiful little girl and within weeks look better than ever!"

All her life, Harry had been used to compliments, but they still made her blush and now was no exception.

Dempsey spared her.

"Hey honey, these two givin' you a hard time?" he grinned, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her gently into him.

"Not at all, James." replied Angela, laughing "We were just saying how gorgeous she looks, despite just becoming a mother. You're a very lucky man."

"Hmmm, hear that?" giggled Harry, sliding her arm around his waist too.

"An' you think I need remindin'?" he said, kissing her.

"Not really no. But I'll remind you later anyway." she whispered.

As Ollie and Dempsey began a different conversation involving getting tickets for an upcoming Five Nations Rugby Championship game between England and Scotland at Twickenham, Angela took Harry aside.

"Are you and James - you know, back on track, so to speak?"

"Honestly Angela, not much gets past you does it." giggled Harry. "Let's just say we'll see in the new year, in the best way possible."

"Gracious Harry, I'd have thought you'd be rather banged about in the nether regions."

Harry burst out laughing.

"It was a pretty easy birth, Angela." she replied, still smiling uncontrollably. "I mean, if it wasn't, as much as I love him, it would be impossible to get back on track so quickly, as you so eloquently put it!"

By eight o'clock, their friends had left, leaving the five of them to enjoy a relaxing meal and see in the New Year in a relatively quiet fashion, although Alexandra made a few appearances throughout the evening and seemed to relish being passed around and bounced on several knees.

Finally at one in the morning they all retired to bed. It was Dempsey's turn to look in on Alexandra and tuck her in, so Harry slipped into their en-suite bathroom and prepared herself for his return.

When he came back into their bedroom she was lying on the bed, propped up on one elbow, with a look in her eye that he hadn't seen, and had missed, for many weeks.

Wearing a near transparent nightdress, black stocking hold-ups and nothing much else, it was all he could do to stop himself losing complete control. Fighting against every urge to ravishingly devour her, he slipped off his dressing gown and boxers and slid up next to her, her hands and fingers beginning to explore his body the instant he was at rest.

"Happy New Year darling." she whispered, gently kissing his lips. "Take me back to heaven."

**The End.**


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